This is the third time that an NPP in Japan has resumed operation under the new regulatory standards put into effect by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) in July 2013, following the Sendai-1 and -2 NPPs, owned and operated by the Kyushu Electric Power Co., in Kagoshima Prefecture. It is, moreover, the first restart using the uranium-plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel under the new standards.
The Takahama-3 (PWR, 870 MWe) is expected to achieve criticality tomorrow and go into a period of adjustment operations on February 1. At the end of February, the unit is expected to resume commercial operation after an integrated performance test by the NRA.
In December 2015, 157 nuclear fuel assemblies, including 24 MOX fuel assemblies, were loaded into the reactor, the final step in the restart process prior to today.
