A nuclear reactor in Fukushima Prefecture will likely be the first in Japan to use uranium-plutonium mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel to produce pluthermal power, a Tokyo Electric Power Co. official said Thursday.
The news came after Masato Idesawa -- who heads a Niigata Prefecture plant also expected to adopt the pluthermal method -- told a news conference the introduction of the new method will be delayed at his plant by two months until April 17.
The delay at the No. 3 reactor of Niigata's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant means the Fukushima No. 1 plant's No. 3 reactor in the town of Okuma will probably be the first in Japan to use the pluthermal method. The plant is located on the coast about 220 km northeast of Tokyo. Both plants belong to Tepco.
The new fuel would be introduced while operation of the nuclear reactor is suspended for a regular safety checkup. According to Idesawa, the postponement was necessary because his plant's reactor needs to generate more electricity before its regular checkup and denied there was any connection between the delayed temporary shutdown and the planned introduction of the pluthermal process.