The 56MW coal-fired plant at Onahama in Japan's northeastern Fukushima prefecture will stop operating at the end of March next year. The plant typically consumes 150,000-180,000 t/yr of coal.
There are no plans to buy coal because there are enough stocks to last until the plant's decommissioning, a Sumitomo spokesperson told Argus. It is unclear what Sumitomo plans to do with the site of the power plant.
Sumitomo has operated the plant's 50MW No.1 unit since 2004 and the 6MW No.2 unit since 2016 through its 100pc-owned subsidiary Summit Energy. Summit Energy has a 65pc stake in the Onahama plant, with the remaining 35pc held by domestic salt producer Nihonkaisui.
Japan is aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 46pc by the April 2030-March 2031 fiscal year against 2013-14 levels, before achieving net zero emissions by 2050. To meet this goal, Tokyo has pledged to phase out existing inefficient coal-fired capacity by 2030, which could target units with less than 42pc efficiency.
The two units at Onahama are equipped with sub-critical (sub-c) technology that typically has less than 38pc thermal efficiency, according to Japan's trade and industry ministry (Meti).
Onahama port Japan's northeast coast is looking to take advantage of its coal import infrastructure to accommodate a future need for imports of carbon-neutral fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia.
Japan's hydrogen demand is likely to hit 3mn t/yr in 2030 before reaching 20mn t/yr by 2050, while Meti projects the country's demand for ammonia as a fuel to hit 3mn t/yr by 2030 and 30mn t/yr by 2050.
