World’s Largest Nuclear Plant Sits Idle While Energy Needs Soar

日本語版: 世界最大の原発、柏崎刈羽再稼働で軋轢－エネルギー問題緩和期待も

On Japan’s windy western coast, in a region known for heavy snowfall and sake brewing, the world’s largest nuclear plant sits idle.

The Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, a sprawling 4.2-million square meter complex by the sea, was once the crown jewel in Japan’s strategy to boost atomic power to 50% of the country’s energy mix by 2030. Inside, a framed certificate from Guinness World Records acknowledges the facility’s potential output of 8.2 gigawatts as the most globally.

Right now that output — enough to power more than 13 million households — is zero. The seven reactors at KK, as ...