JBC database monthly update:
Following an official announcement in March that Rengo had completed its fuel conversion of coal-fired power plants to LNG, the number of coal-fired power plants in operation as of April 1 stood at 163, a decrease of 2.

Operating (including 6 mothballed units): 163 Units
Planned/Under Construction: 1 Units
Retired: 13 Units

［Information about Coal-fired Power Unit.］

・Two units shut down at the Rengo Kanazu Mill (Fukui Prefecture)
Rengo announced on March 5 that construction to switch fuel from coal to LNG had been completed. In place of the two decommissioned coal-fired units, which had a combined generating capacity of 41 MW, three LNG-fired units (Units 5, 6, and 7) have begun operations.
Rengo News (written in Japanese): Switch from Coal to Natural Gas at the Kanazu Plant

・Nippon Paper (NPI) Ishinomaki Mill will shutdown Unit 8-6 in FY2028
Nippon Paper Industries noted a plan to shut down one of its existing coal-fired boilers at its Ishinomaki Mill (Miyagi Prefecture) when it finish construction of a new boiler to use black liquor in FY2028.
Nippon paper Management Policy, Business Risk (written in Japanese)

[Information other than coal]

・Fire at Tachibanawan Power Station
A fire broke out in December 2025 in one of the four coal storage silos at Shikoku Electric Power’s Tachibanawan Power Station (Tokushima Prefecture). The fire has not yet been fully extinguished.

・Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Makiminato Thermal Power Plant
Okinawa Electric Power had been soliciting public comments on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for its proposed new power generation project at the (tentatively named) Makiminato Thermal Power Plant (natural gas-fired, approximately 463,000 kW) (deadline: March 30). This project involves the construction of a new 130,000 kW gas-fired unit, given that existing Unit 9, which runs on heavy oil, has been in operation for over 40 years.

・JERA decommissioned Atsumi Thermal Power Station Units 3 and 4
JERA announced on March 31 that it had decommissioned Units 3 and 4 of the Atsumi Thermal Power Station (Aichi Prefecture, total output 1400 MW), which had been on long-term suspension. It completed the decommissioning of all power generation facilities at the station.
JERA’s announcement.

*The full database can be downloaded in Excel format on this page.
* Click here (PDF) to download a summary of Japan’s coal plant data.