The largest generator of electricity in Japan, JERA, announced on Friday that it will begin operating a unit of a brand-new 2.34 gigawatt (GW) gas-fired power station at Goi in Chiba, close to Tokyo, on August 1 to help prevent electricity shortages during the peak summer demand season.
The three new 0.78-GW units replaces the old 1.886 GW power station which comprised of six more modest units and stopped activities in 2018.
Japan, the fifth-largest CO2 emitter in the world, has recently constructed new thermal power plants, including coal-fired ones, due to difficulties in restarting nuclear power plants that were shut down following the 2011 Fukushima disaster and the slow adoption of renewable energy.
This is despite the global shift away from fossil fuels to combat climate change. JERA is sending off the 0.78-GW No.1 unit, equipped for giving capacity to around 2 million families, right on time one month from now, one month early, to fulfill expanded power need following the new intensity wave.
The station is mutually claimed by JERA, Eneos Possessions’ (5020. T), creates a brand-new tab, and Kyushu Electric Power (9508 T), Tokyo Electric Power shares ownership of JERA (9501. T), and Chubu Electric Power (9502. T) The installation of cutting-edge turbines, including a gas turbine made by General Electric (GE.N) and a steam turbine made by Toshiba, has reduced annual CO2 emissions by 16% compared to the old facilities and increased generation efficiency to 64%, which ranks among the highest in the world for gas power.
Any extra limit is invited now as Japan has been experiencing tight power supply during top summer and winter request seasons because of the retirement of numerous old offices. Masataka Sato, president of GOI United Generation, the station’s operator, told reporters, “Launching new units is significant because they provide safe and stable electricity while contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions.”
Sato stated that the GE turbine is capable of co-firing hydrogen, adding that the total project cost was approximately 200 billion yen ($1.3 billion). However, there is currently no plan to install a carbon capture storage facility or co-fire hydrogen with gas.
