Power company JERA had announced on November 22 that it would restart its Taketoyo Thermal Power Station (Taketoyo, Aichi Prefecture) around January 2025, aiming to restore the plant with biomass co-firing around the end of FY2026. On January 7, 2025, the plant resumed operation using only coal as fuel.

JERA’s restoration plan

Taketoyo Thermal Power Station was shut down after a fire* in January 2024. According to a JERA press release, in line with the restoration plan, the aim is to resume operation with coal around January 2025, and later resume operations with biomass co-firing around the end of FY2026. However, when operations resumed in January, as a temporary measure biomass fuel will not be used, and the plant will operate as a coal-fired power plant to contribute to securing electricity supply during periods of high demand such as summer and winter.

Measures to prevent further accidents include transporting coal and biomass fuel separately, building a new pneumatic conveyer belt exclusively for transporting biomass fuel. The plant will operate exclusively as a coal-fired plant until this work is completed, and start 8% biomass co-firing from around the end of FY2026, withplans to incrementally return to the original co-firing rate of 17%.

If coal-only operation is resumed, CO2 emissions from the plant will worsen. Regarding the increase in CO2 emissions due to both this and the reduction in co-firing ratio (from a planned 17% to 8%), JERA plans to curtail the operation of Taketoyo Thermal Power Station or other coal-fired power plants during periods of low demand so that emissions will not exceed the annual CO2 emission intensity of the Taketoyo Thermal Power Station. But is it really necessary to go that far to restart the power plant over the opposition of the surrounding residents?

Is restarting Taketoyo Thermal Power Station necessary?

Electricity demand was reportedly higher than expected in some areas during the summer of 2024, in which Japan experienced a severe heat wave. In the Chubu area, where Taketoyo Thermal Power Station is located, expected demand was exceeded on some days in September, but not significantly more than in other areas.

Trends in Electricity Supply and Demand this Summer (from July to September)

A verification of the actual electricity supply and demand for the summer of 2024 published by the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO) also shows that a stable supply could have been ensured at the time of maximum demand without Taketoyo Thermal Power Station operating.

■Each area ensures stable supply at the time of maximum demand
actual performance/electricity demand assumptions under extreme heat (H1)

JERA announced on September 19 that 13 units at nine power plants were put into increased power operation (operation at a higher output than the rated power output) in response to a decline in the power supply-demand reserve ratio. To increase the supply of electricity, JERA started operation of Unit 2 at Yokosuka Thermal Power Station (650 MW, coal) in February 2024, and Unit 1 at Goi Thermal Power Station in August and Unit 2 in November 2024 (both 780 MW, LNG). However, the company has not announced any specific plans for the phaseout of all inefficient coal-fired thermal power units as stated in its own roadmap.

According to OCCTO’s 2024 annual report, not only is there a trend of electricity demand decreasing year by year, but it also notes that during periods of declining electricity demand, adjustments were made to maintain a wide-area balance due to “a greater-than-expected decline in electricity demand and an anticipated increase in solar power output.”

Given these circumstances, this justification is not sufficient for restarting Taketoyo Thermal Power Station in order to ensure a stable supply of electricity. Moreover, given that the introduction of renewable energy is progressing in the Chubu region, there is no need to restart coal-fired power plants, which emit large amounts of CO2.

Request to stop the resumption of operations submitted

Following JERA’s November 22 press release, a Taketoyo residents group concerned with environmental issues, Friends of the Earth Japan, and Kiko Network jointly submitted a letter of request to the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, requesting that JERA’s Taketoyo Thermal Power Station not be restarted. Here again, it was explained that it is not necessary to put Taketoyo Thermal Power Station back into operation.

Public briefing session scheduled after JERA’s announcement

On December 8th, an “Explanatory Meeting on Measures to Prevent Recurrence of Explosions and Fires, and Recovery Plan” was held for Taketoyo residents. There was only a short time between the announcement and the time of the event, and information was only given via a notice in the area where the event was held (Higashiodaka, Fuki, Taketoyo-cho). Nonetheless, over 100 residents, mainly members of the Taketoyo residents group, attended and expressed their opposition to the restart of operations.
After the meeting, residents submitted a letter of protest to the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and the director of the power plant.

Comment from Takashi Okubo, Taketoyo Association on Environmental Issues:

The Taketoyo residents group sent a letter of protest to the JERA Taketoyo Thermal Power Station and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on December 25, 2011, urging them not to restart the plant. Looking at those dishonest briefings and blacked-out documents, I can’t believe that the problem has been solved in any way. Whether talking about the cause of the explosion or efforts to become carbon neutral by reducing CO2 emissions, they give only vague answers that do not respond to the residents’ voices. Coal-fired power generation will eventually be phased out, but we cannot sit idly by and wait for that to happen. We will not give up, and we will continue fighting.

JERA has released the results of an investigation into the cause of the fire and measures to prevent recurrence, and in the section on installing safety devices to prevent recurrence, it states that, “In the unlikely event that an explosion occurs, explosion suppression devices or explosion vents/flame suppression vents will be installed to prevent the explosion before it escalates into a fire or explosion.” If an explosion were to cause a fire or blaze, as it did in January 2024, there is a high risk that nearby residents would be unable to escape in time, a concern that has yet to be resolved.

The fact that JERA announced plans to restart the plant before an explanation was given to local residents cannot be called a sincere response. Furthermore, the fact that the company restarted the operation of a large coal-fired power plant without the understanding and consent of those living near the plant, in spite of the protest letters they submitted after the explanatory meeting, shows JERA’s disregard for the local residents.

＊January 2024 accident:
When wood biomass fuel was transported on the same conveyor belt as coal, dust was generated, which ignited due to friction with the belt, causing a fire. An explosion blew a hole in the wall of the boiler house.

JERA’s press release : JERA Plans to Resume Service After the Fire at Taketoyo Thermal Power Station

JBC’s news for your reference
【News】 Fire erupts at Taketoyo Thermal Power; investigation and explanation are essential (Link)
【News】After Taketoyo power plant explosion, residents oppose resumption of operation (Link)