In 2001 project officials selected Jay Kim, a Korean-American and former senior scientist of nuclear power plant design at Westinghouse, to approach U.S. developers.

FORBES: Scratch Builders

So the probabilities of hitting a point structure like a power plant with a tornado drop precipitously compared to a hurricane, and the design basis for power plants varies accordingly.

FORBES: Tornados and Nukes -- How Big Can They Get?

SunPower will continue to develop the project, and will design, build, operate and maintain the solar power plant.

ENGADGET: NRG and SunPower partner on 250-megawatt solar plant, plan to power 100,000 California homes

But scientists say it could take another 10 years of research and construction before the design is ready to be used in a nuclear power plant in the United States.

CNN: Today/Tomorrow - Helping nuclear plants keep their cool

"We have reached the evaluation that the D-1 area of crushed rock in the premises of the Tsuruga power plant needs to be taken into consideration from the perspective of quake-resistant design, " Kunihiko Shimazaki, deputy chairman of the authority, told reporters during a news conference following a panel meeting where the report was approved.

WSJ: Panel: Active Fault Runs Beneath Japan Reactor