Japan's JERA to launch new gas-fired power plant to avoid electricity shortages

KYUDEN Holdings

26/07/2024 09:55

By Yuka Obayashi
       GOI, Japan, July 26 (Reuters) - Japan's biggest power
generator JERA said on Friday it will start a unit of a new 2.34
gigawatt (GW) gas-fired power station at Goi in Chiba, near
Tokyo, on Aug. 1 to help avoid electricity shortages during peak
summer demand season.
    The three new 0.78-GW units replaces the old 1.886 GW power
station which consisted of six smaller units and ceased
operations in 2018.
    Despite the global shift away from fossil fuels to combat
climate change, Japan, the world's fifth-largest CO2 emitter,
has recently built new thermal power plants, including
coal-fired ones due to difficulties in restarting nuclear power
plants that were shut after the 2011 Fukushima disaster and slow
adoption of renewable energy. 
    JERA is launching the 0.78-GW No.1 unit, capable of
providing power for about 2 million households, early next
month, one month ahead of schedule, to meet increased
electricity demand following the recent heat wave.
    The station is jointly owned by JERA, Eneos Holdings's
 5020.T  unit, and Kyushu Electric Power  9508.T . JERA is
co-owned by Tokyo Electric Power  9501.T  and Chubu Electric
Power  9502.T .
    The installation of advanced turbines -- General Electric's
 GE.N  gas turbine and Toshiba's steam turbines -- has increased
generation efficiency to 64%, among the world's highest for gas
power, and reduce annual CO2 emissions by 16% compared to the
old facilities.
    Any additional capacity is welcomed now as Japan has been
suffering tight power supply during peak summer and winter
demand seasons due to the retirement of many old facilities.
    "Launching new units is significant because they provide
safe and stable electricity while contributing to the reduction
of CO2 emissions," Masataka Sato, president of GOI United
Generation, the station's operator, told reporters.
    There is currently no plan to co-fire hydrogen with gas or
install a carbon capture storage facility, but the GE turbine is
capable of co-firing hydrogen, Sato said, adding the total
project cost was about 200 billion yen ($1.3 billion).
    "We can't say how long the new units will operate ... it
will depend on power demand," he said.
($1 = 154.2700 yen)

 (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by David Evans)
 ((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4520-1265;))