On May 25, JERA finally held a briefing session for local residents regarding the explosion that occurred on January 31, 2024 at Taketoyo Thermal Power Station (Taketoyo, Aichi Prefecture), operated by JERA.

On the day of the explosion, a fire started near a bunker where wood pellets were stored. The fire then spread to the conveyor belt, reached the building holding the boiler, and exploded, damaging a wall (see photo below). Since then, the Taketoyo Thermal Power Station has not been in operation, and until now JERA had only briefly reported on the status of its investigation on its website, but for several months did not provide any explanation to the residents living in the vicinity of the power station.

At the briefing session, about 40 JERA members, including board members, gathered with over 100 local residents and others.

The session began with an apology from a JERA board member, followed by an overview of the accident, progress on the investigation, and an explanation of the cause. Informational material is available here in Japanese.

According to JERA, biomass dust in the air ignited, and fire spread to the surrounding dust, causing a large explosion. Normally, biomass dust does not reach ignition temperature, but a misalignment of the conveyor belt transporting the biomass caused friction between the belt and a plate supporting it, generating heat and igniting the belt, resulting in the explosion.

After the apology and explanation. residents expressed the following opinions, criticisms, and requests:

• Nearly four months after the explosion is far too late to hold the first briefing session. JERA’s Taketoyo Thermal Power Station has had four previous accidents in the past, which tells us that JERA’s management system is not functioning at all. The only investigations were conducted by JERA, which lacks objectivity. An independent third-party committee should be created and include representatives of local residents. If an investigation committee had been organized and handled previous accidents, this explosion could have been prevented.
• JERA explained that this was a dust explosion. Biomass thermal power stations, including Taketoyo, have had 12 accidents in the past five years. In addition to dust, biomass fuel has various risks such as contamination (mixed foreign substances), fermentation, and emission of combustible gas. There are no national safety standards for biomass fuel at this point (currently METI is preparing the standard). Until safety is ensured, the Taketoyo Thermal Power Station should not be restarted.
• Even though Taketoyo is not operating, this summer the electricity reserve rate for electricity demand is over 10%, so there is no need to worry about power shortages. Coal-fired power plants should be phased out immediately to fight climate change, and there is no need to restart operations. As long as coal-fired power plants are used, CO2 will continue to be emitted. What exactly does JERA think about that carbon sink?

JERA apologized politely, but its responses to these comments were not accepted by residents; JERA refused to create a third-party committee and to offer compensation, would not deny the possibility of restarting the power station, and even stated the need to restart the power station “in case there is a shortage”, even though there is no shortage of reserve electricity. Regarding its climate change measures, JERA responded, “We will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 through measures such as hydrogen-ammonia co-firing, CCS, and an increase in renewable energy sources”.

During the session, JERA prohibited voice recording, video and photo taking, and limited the time strictly to two hours and did not allow it to be extended. The number of questions was also limited – one question per person – and so it was not possible for participants to rebut or ask any follow-up questions. It was clear that JERA does not intend to change any core aspects of its policies for accident prevention and climate change countermeasures in the future.

We urge JERA to hold another briefing session for a more serious response to local residents, and to not restart the power station in light of both the urgency of climate change and current electricity demand.

Mr. Okubo’s comment:

Since the explosion at Taketoyo Thermal Power Station on January 31, 2024, five months have passed. With the cooperation of local council members, members of this group of concerned Taketoyo citizens have repeatedly requested JERA to explain the current situation, causes, and response measures since February 2. For the last five months, there has been tension between local residents and JERA, one of Japan’s largest power utilities, which had not done obvious things like apologize to the local residents for causing anxiety and fear from the explosion, or explain about the causes of the explosion. Finally, on May 25, we were able to have a briefing session for residents at the gymnasium of Fuki Elementary school in Taketoyo.

About 120 people attended the session. An apology was given by JERA, an explanation was given by the power plant manager, and time was taken for questions and answers. However, due to the large number of people with questions, the company cut off dialogue with residents once the initial time set by the company had arrived. Unfortunately, it became clear that the explanation and the answers to the questions did not fulfill the residents’ concern that such an accident, in which their lives and property were at stake, would never happen again.

We submitted to JERA a second questionnaire dated on June 17, and a third questionnaire on June 19, and requested a reply by June 28.

JERA responded saying, ‘The briefing session is over, and the next step will be explaining the measures we will take to prevent accidents and restart the power station’.

Our position is that after restarting operation, there is no guarantee that an explosion or fire even bigger than this one will not occur, unless JERA, who has all of the information on the cause of the explosion, provides an acceptable explanation to residents. Concealment or modification of information is unacceptable. We will continue to persist in our position that only once we understand the cause can we be convinced of the appropriateness of the response, and we will do our utmost to protect the lives and property of local residents, and the health and lives of employees working at the power plant.

We would like to thank all of those who have made direct requests, and those who participated in study groups and the briefing session. We would also like to thank those who have provided expert opinions and advice through reports, emails and phone calls.

Reference
【News】 Fire erupts at Taketoyo Thermal Power; investigation and explanation are essential