Japan’s environment minister on Tuesday urged that Chubu Electric Power Co’s plans for a major new coal-fired power plant be reconsidered, or even scrapped, amid growing concerns that Japan may miss emissions reductions targets. In a consultative statement issued to Tokyo’s industry ministry…
Japan’s environment minister on Tuesday urged that Chubu Electric Power Co’s plans for a major new coal-fired power plant be reconsidered, or even scrapped, amid growing concerns that Japan may miss emissions reductions targets.
In a consultative statement issued to Tokyo’s industry ministry, Environment Minister Koichi Yamamoto warned that Chubu Electric’s plan for a 1.07 gigawatt (GW) plant in central Japan should be reexamined if the utility cannot map out concrete steps to cut carbon emissions by 2030 and later.
Final approval for the plant rests with the industry ministry, and the environment ministry makes comments in an advisory role only.
But the statement complicates life for Japan’s power industry at it seeks to build new coal-fired power capacity to compensate for its nuclear sector being still mostly shut down in the wake of the 2011’s Fukushima disaster. Chubu Electric currently plans to begin building the new coal-fired unit at its existing Taketoyo plant site next year.
