Tokyo Electric to speed up construction of coal- and gas-fired plants

[bananas]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=awABNymbdIso&refer=japan

Tokyo Electric to Speed Up Building Thermal Plants (Update2)

By Megumi Yamanaka

March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Tokyo Electric Power Co., forced to shut the world's biggest nuclear station after an earthquake, will speed up construction of coal- and gas-fired plants to avoid a supply shortfall as safety concerns delay new atomic reactors.

Asia's biggest utility plans to complete the Hitachinaka No. 2 and Hirono No. 6 coal-fired plants in fiscal 2013, one year ahead of schedule, it said in a statement today. The first line of the Kawasaki No. 2 liquefied natural gas-fired plant will also be ready that year, four years earlier than planned.

Tokyo Electric's Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant in Niigata prefecture has been shut since July 16 when a 6.8 magnitude tremor caused a fire and radiation leaks. New projects face delays as utilities boost quake resistance to restore public confidence following the plant closure and revelations that companies falsified safety records and concealed incidents.

<snip>

In March 2007, Japan's 12 power producers admitted more than 200 instances of faking safety reports and other improper practices. In 2002, Tokyo Electric was ordered to shut all its reactors after admitting to falsifying reports on repairs since the 1980s.

<snip>

[Nihil]

1. Sigh

If only ...

> Asia's biggest utility plans to complete the Hitachinaka No. 2 and Hirono
> No. 6 coal-fired plants in fiscal 2013, one year ahead of schedule, it said
> in a statement today. The first line of the Kawasaki No. 2 liquefied natural
> gas-fired plant will also be ready that year, four years earlier than
> planned.
>
> Tokyo Electric's Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant in Niigata prefecture has been
> shut since July 16 when a 6.8 magnitude tremor caused a fire and radiation
> leaks. New projects face delays as utilities boost quake resistance to
> restore public confidence following the plant closure and revelations that
> companies falsified safety records and concealed incidents.

If only coal-fired plants were held to the same level of safety standard ...

Ah well, at least the coal burning will not release as much radiation
as the _potential_ nuclear plant leak would have done ... oh, wait ...
actually, the coal-fired plants have already released more radiation ...
oops.

:shrug: