Japan and coal

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Coal imports

The U.S. Geological Survey states that "Coal imports by Japan reached 186 Mt [million tonnes - ed] in 2007, which was an increase of 5.2% compared with those of 2006. Of the total, thermal coal accounted for 54%; coking coal, 43%; and anthracite, 3%. Coking coal imports increased by only 0.4% to 80 Mt whereas thermal coal imports increased by 10.2% to 101 Mt. Imports from Australia, which accounted for 61% of the total tonnage, increased by 9.8% to 113 Mt and those from Indonesia, which accounted for 18% of the total, increased by 3.5% to 33 Mt. Imports from China, which accounted for 8% of the total, however, decreased by 26.7% to 15 Mt.

According to the U.S. EIA: "[Japanese] domestic coal production came to an end in 2002 and Japan imported 182 million short tons [of coal] in 2009, for which Australia was the main supplier."

Canadian province and Japan ink deal

In January 2011, Saskatchewan and Japan signed an agreement to work together on clean coal and carbon capture and storage. The Canadian province and the Japan Coal Energy Center — which represents more than 100 companies — signed a memorandum of understanding to encourage more co-operation on so-called clean coal technologies. The province stated the agreement would set the stage for information exchanges and research projects involving scientists and companies in both jurisdictions. The province stated that Japanese investment in Saskatchewan carbon capture and storage projects as a result. Saskatchewan Energy Minister Bill Boyd said the initiative would help industries and utilities reduce their environmental footprints. Saskatchewan is currently Canada's third-largest coal producer and also relies on coal to supply 62 per cent of the province's energy.

Thermal power stations

Existing coal-fired power stations

In 2011, Japan had about 243 GW of intslled electrical generating capacity of which 73 in early 2012 was from conventional thermal electric generating capacity fired by coal, oil or gas. According to Japan Electric Power Information Center, as of mid-2012 there are 61 thermal power plants, and 6 more are under construction: 3 using natural gas and 3 using coal for generation. Coal accounts for roughly 25 percent of electricity generation in 2010.

On its website, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan lists 53 power stations with a capacity of 1,000MW or greater. Of these, 14 are coal-fired and a further two are coal and oil fired stations. Four of the 14 listed coal fired power stations are owned and operated by Electric Power Development Co.,which is commonly referred to by its J-POWER trading name. J-Power is not a member of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan.

The sixteen wholly or partly coal-fired power stations are:

• the 1,650MW Tomato-atsuma power station, which is owned by Hokkaido Power Company ;
• the 2,000MW Haramachi power station which is owned by Tohoku Power Company ;
• the 1200MW Noshiro power station which is owned by the Tohoku Power Company;
• the 3,800MW Hirono Thermal Power Station which is owned by the Tokyo Electric Power Company. This power station is fueled by a mix of crude oil, fuel oil and coal.
• the 1000MW Hitachinaka Thermal Power Station which is owned by the Tokyo Power Company;
• the 4100MW Hekinan power station which is owned by the Chubu Power Company;
• the 1500MW Toyama Shinko power station which is owned by the Hokuriku Power Company. This power station is fueled by a mix of crude oil, fuel oil and coal.
• the 1200MW Nanaoota Shinko power station which is owned by the Hokuriku Power Company.
• the 1200MW Tsuruga power station which is owned by the Hokuriku Power Company;
• the 1000MW Misumi power station which is owned by the Chugoku Power Company;
• the 1000MW Shin Onoda power station which is owned by the Chugoku Power Company;
• the 1400MW Reihoku power station which is owned by the Kyushu Power Company;
• the 2100MW Tachibanawan power station which is owned by the Electric Power Development Company comprising two 1050MW units which were commissioned in July 2000 and December 2000 respectively
• the 2000MW Matsuura power station which is owned by the Electric Power Development Company which comprises two 1,000MW units which were commissioned in June 1990 and July 1997 respectively;
• the 1300MW Takehara power station which is owned by the Electric Power Development Company, which comprises three units; the 250MW unit no 1 was commissioned in July 1967; the 350MW No 2 was converted from being an oil-fired power station to coal and re-commissioned in June 1995; and the 700MW No 3 which was commissioned in March 1983; and
• the 1000MW Matsushima power station which is owned by the Electric Power Development Company which comprises two 500MW units which were commissioned in January 1981 and June 1981 respectively;

In addition, the Electric Power Development Company, owns and operates three other coal-fired power stations in addition to those listed above. These are:

• the Isogo power station comprising two 600MW units, the New No 1 was commissioned in March 2002 and the New No 2 is currently under construction and scheduled to be commissioned in 2010/2011.
• the Ishikawa power station comprising two 250MW units which were commissioned in November 1986 and March 1987 respectively; and
• the Takasago power station, comprising two 250MW units which were commissioned in July 1968 and January 1969 respectively;
• Sumitomo Metals Kashima power station

Proposed coal-fired power stations

Country	Developer	CARMA ID	Plant	Status	MW	Fuel	Latitude	Longitude
Japan	TEPCO	17905	Hitachinaka Unit 2	Under construction	1000	coal	36.436820663263	140.61409950256
Japan	TEPCO	17868	Hirono Unit 6	Under construction	600	coal	37.232652	141.013799
Japan	J-Power	44306	Takehara New Unit 1	Planning	600	coal	34.337305771317	132.95724034309
Japan	Kyushu Electric Power Company		Matsuura Unit 2 (KEPCO)	Planning	1000	coal	33.348382906927	129.68253135681

The impact of the March 2011 Tsunami on Japanese coal plants

On March 11, 2011 a major earthquake off the east coast of Japan caused a massive tsunami which devastated coastal communities and crippled the Fukushima nuclear reactor. Less well known was that the tsunami also had a major impact on a number of Japan's coal-fired power stations and related infrastructure. TEPCO, the owner of the Fukushima nuclear plant, also reported that the tsunami damaged three of its coal fired plants. The Hirono Thermal Power Station, the Hitachinaka Thermal Power Station and the oil-fired Kashima Thermal Power Station. The Institute of Energy Economics Japan also identified Tohoku Electric's Haramachi Thermal Power Station, Soma Kyodo Power's Shinchi Power Station and Joban Joint Power's Nakoso power station.

TEPCO reported that the Hirono power station was the worst damaged of its coal plants with the turbine building flooded and debris are scattered widely across the site. The coal-fired unit 5 was brought back on line on June 15, 2011 and the other four oil-fired units the following month. At the Hitachinaka Thermal Power Station the coal unloader was broken by the tsunami and collapsed into the sea, the coal conveyor system damaged and the site as a whole subsided. The 1000 megawatt coal-fired unit was brought back online on May 15, 2011. The oil-fired Kashima Thermal Power Station was the least damaged of the plants with the tsunami flooding the grounds of the plant. Five of the six units of the plant were progressively brought back online in April with onhe in mid-May.

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch articles

• Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan
• Global use and production of coal
• Australia and coal
• Britain and coal
• China and coal
• Colombia and coal
• Germany and coal
• Indonesia and coal
• New Zealand and coal
• South Africa and coal
• United States and coal

External Articles

• International Energy Agency, "Coal in Japan in 2005", International Energy Agency website, accessed June 2008.
• U.S. Geological Survey, Japan 1994-2007

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