By Yuka Obayashi
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Electric Power Development (J-Power) said on Friday it will decommission two coal-fired power plants by March 2029 as part of efforts to meet its 2030 goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 46% from 2013 levels.
President Hitoshi Kanno also reaffirmed the company’s commitment to completing the Oga-Katagami-Akita offshore wind project in northern Akita prefecture under Japan’s second-round public auction framework.
J-Power, a wholesale electricity supplier, relies on coal-fired generation for over half of its domestic sales.
The units slated for closure are No.1 and No.2 units at the Takasago thermal power station in western Hyogo prefecture, subcritical-pressure plants that began operation in 1968 and 1969, each with a 250-megawatt capacity.
“To achieve our 2030 target, we must shut down remaining inefficient thermal units, but we also must maintain supply capacity …. we will decide through discussions with the authorities,” Kanno said.
He cited the 700-MW No.3 unit at Takehara in western Hiroshima prefecture, and the 1,000-MW No.1 unit at Matsuura in southern Nagasaki prefecture as candidates for future closures.
Shutting these, in addition to the two Takasago units, would reduce the utility’s domestic capacity by 12%.
Japan’s power demand is projected to rise due to growing electricity needs from data centres and semiconductor plants, reversing years of decline.
Kanno said Japan must accelerate renewable energy deployment, particularly offshore wind, to achieve both carbon neutrality and energy security.
Offshore wind developers face global headwinds from rising material, equipment and labour costs. With Mitsubishi Corp withdrawing from three first-round auction projects, uncertainty looms over Japan’s offshore wind market.
“But we are pushing ahead with our Katagami project despite rising costs,” Kanno said.
A consortium of JERA, J-Power, Itochu and Tohoku Electric Power aims to start operations of the Oga-Katagami-Akita project in autumn 2028, using Vestas’ wind turbines, Kanno said.
The government is reviewing bidding rules for the reopening of the first-round auction, but any decisions should apply retroactively to second- and third-round projects, Kanno said.
(Reporting by Yuka ObayashiEditing by Mark Potter)
