On April 16, 2021, Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (J-POWER) and Ube Industries announced the cancellation of new construction plans for Nishiokinoyama Power Plant (tentative name), a planned coal-fired power plant in Ube, Yamaguchi-prefecture.

In its press release, companies stated that “in the western Japan area where this plant would be located, electricity demand is expected to remain flat and the introduction of renewable energy is expanding. As a result of comprehensive judgment based on the business environment including these factors, the company has decided to cancel this plan.”

In 2015, J-POWER, Osaka Gas, and Ube Industries established Yamaguchi-Ube Power Generation and carried out an environmental impact assessment procedure to build two 600MW units utilizing ultra supercritical (USC) technology planned to begin operation in 2026. After Osaka Gas decided to withdraw from the plan in 2019, J-POWER began considering reducing the scale of this plan to a single 600MW unit and changing to oxygen-blown IGCC (Integrated Coal Gasification Combined Cycle), but the plan has remained unchanged.

It became the first case of cancellation of a new coal-fired project in Japan since the Japan Beyond Coal campaign launched in September 2020.

We hope other companies will follow J-POWER and Ube Industries’ business decision and cancel plans and construction of new coal-fired power plants.

Releases:

J-POWER:　Yamaguchi-Ube Power Generation Co., Ltd. Cancels Nishiokinoyama Power Plant (Tentative Name) Installation Plan (PDF)
Ube Industries: Yamaguchi-Ube Power Generation Co., Ltd. Cancels Nishiokinoyama Power Plant (Tentative Name) Installation Plan (Link)