J-Power Signals Delay to Ohma Nuclear Plant, Pushing Back 2030 Start
J-Power expects its Ohma nuclear plant to miss its 2030 start date, with a new mid-term strategy due next spring covering the reactor and coal phase-out plans.
Japan's Electric Power Development, known as J-Power, expects construction of its Ohma nuclear power plant to fall behind schedule, likely pushing back its planned start of operations in 2030, the company's president said on Tuesday.
Hideaki Kato told reporters that the 1,383-megawatt plant had been slated for completion in 2029 and operation in 2030, but the timetable is now expected to slip because of the complexity of construction planning.
The company intends to set out a new mid-term business strategy next spring. Kato said this would include a target start date for Ohma as well as revised plans for phasing out inefficient coal-fired power plants. He described the anticipated timetable for Ohma as the most significant issue, with the coal-generation plan also a key item.
Located in Aomori prefecture in northern Japan, Ohma is an advanced boiling water reactor designed to be the world's first nuclear plant able to use MOX (mixed-oxide) fuel across its entire core. Construction began in May 2008 but was halted after the March 2011 earthquake and the Fukushima disaster. Preparatory work restarted in 2012, and J-Power is continuing with the approval process under the stricter regulations introduced after the accident.
Kato said the company's goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 is unchanged, though it may revise a 2024 roadmap that envisaged phasing out inefficient coal-fired plants by 2030. Rising electricity demand from data centres could make it preferable to keep those plants running for longer, he said.
Separately, J-Power's plan to convert its Matsushima coal-fired plant into a lower-carbon facility has been delayed, held up by soaring construction costs, labour shortages and longer lead times for gas turbines.
Overseas, the company is pursuing gas-fired power projects in Asia backed by long-term power purchase agreements. It also plans to expand large-scale solar projects, responding to solid demand for carbon-free renewable power from major companies in the United States and Australia.