Japan will target a phase-out of inefficient coal plants by 2030, as it continues its energy transition push, although the country is still yet to provide further details on any broader movement away from coal.
"By 2030, the inefficient use of coal-fired power will be phased out," Japan's newly appointed environment minister Keiichiro Asao said at a press conference on Wednesday. Asao was appointed after Japan's new prime minister Shigeru Ishiba took office this week.
Japan had earlier pledged to phase out "unabated" coal-fired plants by 2035, or "in a timeline consistent with keeping a limit of a 1.5°C temperature rise within reach, in line with countries' net zero pathways".
But inefficient, sub-critical coal plants — with below 40pc efficiency — make up only 22pc of Japan's total fleet, while 25pc is supercritical and 53pc is ultra-supercritical. The sub-critical plants probably produce less of Japan's coal-fired electricity, given the generation margins for them will fall below the majority of gas-fired generation in the merit order.
This means Japan's overall coal-fired power generation is likely to be less impacted than the overall change to its coal fleet capacity. Japan has been considered a laggard in green energy transition among its G7 counterparts, but the country's coal demand could decline to some extent as a result of global divestment pressure.
But coal is still key to the resource-poor country, as the government sees renewables and nuclear as insufficient to meet rising power demand driven by the growth of data centres needed to enable artificial intelligence.
Japan's new government has recently announced that it will be restarting more of its nuclear reactors to help meet its power demand.
Utility Shikoku Electric Power reactivated its sole nuclear reactor at Ikata on 29 September, after closing the unit for turnaround since 19 July.
But the utility pushed back the restart of the 890MW Ikata No.3 nuclear reactor on Wednesday because of a technical issue during the process of resuming power generation.
Japanese thermal coal imports rose by 10pc to 9.25mn t on the year in August, owing to increased deliveries from Australia. But this was 4pc lower than the past five-year August average of 9.6mn t.
