Kyushu Electric Power has signed a contract for the supply of mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for unit 3 of its Genkai nuclear power plant in southern Japan’s Saga prefecture.

    The contract was signed on 28 September 2006 with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). On the same day, MHI signed a contract with Areva for the MOX fuel to be fabricated at the Melox plant in southern France using plutonium resulting from the treatment of Kyushu’s spent fuel at Areva’s La Hague plant.

    The Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) told NucNet that Kyushu’s MOX-use programme is aiming for a first loading of MOX fuel in 2010 and “is the programme making the most concrete progress in Japan”.

    The Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency approved Kyushu’s application to change a reactor installation and begin using MOX fuel at Genkai-3 in September 2005. Saga prefecture and Genkai city gave preliminary consent to Kyushu’s application in March 2006. (NucNet,6/10/2006)