Japan’s Sendai 1 Reactor to be Loaded with Nuclear Fuel

World Nuclear News reported that fuel will be loaded into Kyushu Electric Power Company’s (TSE:9508) Sendai 1 reactor on Tuesday, a significant milestone in the restart of the first Japanese nuclear reactor since Fukushima.
As quoted in the market news:

The two 890 MWe pressurized water reactors at Sendai were taken offline for periodic inspections in May and September 2011, respectively, and have remained so for almost four years while Japan has rebuilt its nuclear safety framework in response to the accident at Fukushima Daiichi.
This work included creating a new independent nuclear safety regulator, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), which developed extensive new safety requirements as well as a multi-step pubilc process under which power companies have upgraded their plants to the NRA’s satisfaction.
Sendai restarts have been prioritised, in part due to local support in Kagoshima prefecture. Plant owner Kyushu Electric Power Company announced today that all inspections ahead had been completed and fuel loading would start tomorrow. Sendai 1 will be the first to restart, and the loading of fuel into the reactor vessel is a significant operational step.

Click here to read the full World Nuclear News report.