Japan embraces commercial coal gasification

TOKYO, JAPAN - Coal accounts for roughly 25 of electricity generation in Japan, which currently has more than 20 active coal-fired plants. Three of those belong to Tokyo Electric Power Company Incorporated TEPCO, the largest electric utility company in Japan and fourth largest in the world.

TEPCO is constructing the sixth unit of Hirono Power Station in Fukushima prefecture, in association with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited MHI.

Japan's domestic coal mining officially ended in 2002. After the domestic stockpile faded, the country began importing coal at an increased rate of 200 million tons per year in 2008. Most of Japan's coal is supplied by Australia however, Indonesia and Canada also supply fair amounts.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD was founded in 1961 on the foundation of world trade. Since then, it has gained 33 member countries across the globe. Japan, which joined in 1964, is unique among its peers in terms of power consumption. Despite having the highest consumption of electricity within the OECD, it has the lower growth rate. Japanese power demand increases at an average rate of 0.7 per year and is projected to do so throughout 2018 as the country's population declines.

This low rate of growth allows for the rehabilitation of the domestic electric power sector. Because there is not a giant demand for electricity looming on the horizon, Japan is able to transition into an age of cleaner energy with little to no pressure. By 2018, TEPCO hopes that less than 15 of electricity will be generated through the utilization of coal, clean or otherwise.

MHI is well-known worldwide for its integrated coal gasification combined-cycle IGCC technology. It is being utilized in plants around the world, though it has yet to catch on in Japan the same way that it has in South Korea. Japan, though a major consumer of energy, is not faced with dire population booms or an extreme need for more energy in the near future, giving the country more time to adjust to environmental demands. MHI is working on a demonstration IGCC plant in the Fukushima prefecture however, that plant is not expected to be commissioned until 2015.

TEPCO, through its subsidiary Clean Coal Power CCP, is also researching clean coal technologies. CCP recently finished Phase I of testing for its own IGCC process. According to officials of CCP's Environmental Management office, because there are still numerous technical problems, CCP is extending the testing period into 2013.

Assuming testing and technical problems are smoothed out, TEPCO plans begin using IGCC technology by 2014. Though TEPCO's newest $600 million addition at the Hirono plant will not be using ICGG, TEPCO expects to begin rehabilitating existing coal-fired plants with IGCC technology and constructing new plants that will utilize coal gasification within the next five years.