Japco postpones shutdown of Tsuruga 1 power reactor

Japan Atomic Power Co. (Japco) announced the shutdown postponement of its Tsuruga 1 nuclear power reactor. The originally scheduled shutdown in 2010 will not push through due to construction delays of Japco’s new units, according to World Nuclear News.

The shutdown was originally set to coincide with the operation of the Tsuruga 3 and 4 reactors. However, construction of the two units had been delayed by two years following a revision in construction regulations compliant to the government's new earthquake resistance guidelines.

Construction of the two 1538 MWe advanced pressurised water reactors (APWRs) is now set to commence in October 2010, and operations of Tsuruga 3 and 4 are scheduled to begin in 2016 and 2017 respectively.