Japanese utility will bring 2.34 GW gas-fired plant online ahead of schedule

Japan’s largest utility said it will start the first of three units at a new natural gas-fired power station near Tokyo in an effort to provide more electricity during the peak summer demand season. JERA on July 26 said the 780 MW Unit 1 at the Goi site in Chiba will enter service on August 1. The Goi plant is a $1.3 billion, three-unit, 2.34 GW facility that replaces a six-unit, 1.886 GW power facility. plant that was decommissioned in 2018. The Goi plant will use imported liquefied natural gas. Unit 1 is starting about a month ahead of the original schedule. Japan has been hit by extreme heat in recent weeks, with temperatures well above 100F. The country’s energy supply has been strained due to the heat and also due to the decommissioning of many older thermal plants in recent years. Most of the country’s nuclear power plant remains offline following the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Goi station is jointly owned by JERA, Eneos Holdings and Kyushu Electric Power. JERA is co-owned by Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power. The plant uses GE gas turbines and Toshiba steam turbines. Officials said the partnership allows the facility to operate at 64% generation efficiency, with carbon dioxide emissions reduced by 16% compared to the old Goi units. “The launch of new units is significant because they provide safe and stable electricity while contributing to the reduction of CO_two emissions,” said Masataka Sato, president of GOI United Generation, the station’s operator, in a meeting with the media. Sato said the GE turbines at the site are capable of co-firing hydrogen, although there are no plans to do so .-Darrell Proctor is a senior editor at POWER (@POWERmagazine).