Tepco Loads Fuel Rods In World’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant As Atomic Era Reignites

The world is finally realizing, after trying to rid itself of nuclear power following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, that the power of the atom will be the heart of clean, reliable electricity generation – not unreliable solar and wind.

The latest sign that a nuclear renaissance is beginning to gain steam is news from Bloomberg on Monday morning that Tokyo Electric Power Co. will be loading fuel rods into one of the reactors at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata prefecture. 

The Kashiwazaki Kariwa is significant because it’s the world’s largest nuclear power plant, with a net capacity of 7,965 megawatts of electricity. Loading the No. 7 reactor with fuel rods is a sign that the power plant could be restarted soon.  

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority on Monday approved the plans to insert fuel rods at the No. 7 reactor at the site in Niigata prefecture. The plant will still need to complete additional inspections and win consent from the local governor — which is not guaranteed — before Tepco can restart generation.

Approval for fuel loading is a step forward for Tepco’s facility, which has been halted since the Fukushima nuclear disaster brought all of Japan’s reactors offline. Kashiwazaki Kariwa has faced additional complications to a restart after security breaches in 2021.-Bloomberg

The planned restart of Japan’s atomic fleet comes as power grids worldwide (maybe not China and or India) are undertaking massive decarbonization efforts to lower emissions. 

In the US, the federal government recently announced that it would provide a $1.5 billion loan to restart a nuclear power plant in southwestern Michigan for the first time. NJ-based Holtec International acquired the 800-megawatt Palisades plant in 2022 with plans to dismantle it. Still, with support from the state of Michigan and the Biden administration, the focus has shifted to restarting the nuclear power plant next year. 

And Patti Poppe, the chief executive officer of Pacific Gas & Electric in California, said just weeks ago, “Nuclear should be part of the future,” adding the state’s only nuclear power plant – Diablo Canyon – should be granted a license to expand its lifetime. 

Governments are beginning to realize (and Wall Street) that nuclear power is the single largest source of reliable, carbon-free electricity. It will play a vital role in powering the economy, whether that’s AI data centers (read “The Next AI Trade”) or electric cars and trucks. 

Still, restarting plants is not easy. Also, keep an eye on uranium futures.

And uranium stocks. 

Nuclear will be powering up America for the digital age. We outlined this as early as December 2020 in a note titled “Buy Uranium: Is This The Beginning Of The Next ESG Craze.”