OSAKA -- Kansai Electric Power Co. may construct an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Gobo, Wakayama Prefecture, using land earmarked for a thermoelectric plant, it was learned Friday.

Construction of the thermoelectric plant, which would have been Gobo's second, has been postponed due to a lack of demand for electricity, and municipal officials have been looking for other ways to boost the local economy.

Kepco will only proceed with the plan if local governments formally request that the facility be built there, sources close to the plan said. The facility would serve as a temporary storage site until spent fuel from nuclear plants can be reprocessed.