Japanese utilities turn away from their coal projects against a background of green energy boom

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese utilities are moving away from new coal-fired power plant projects in the country, due to stricter environmental regulations and growing green energy demand from their major customers.

Last week, Osaka Gas withdrew from the project to build a 1.2 gigawatt coal project following the cancellation in January of a 2 GW coal plant by Kyushu Electric Power, Tokyo Gas and Idemitsu Kosan.

In December, Chugoku Electric Power and JFE Steel abandoned plans to build a 1.07 GW plant.

These measures come as renewable energies are on the rise in Japan and elsewhere and as the government adopts stricter regulations for new coal-fired power plants.

They are also intervening as investors around the world put pressure on companies to divest coal badets and encourage banks to stop funding such projects.

"Utilities increasingly believe that it may not be cost-effective to build a new large coal-fired power plant when demand for electricity declines and operating costs increase due to carbon or other costs related to stricter regulations, "said Shin Furuno, director of the office. 350.org Japanese environmental group.

This month, a group of Japanese government experts urged the country to aim for carbon neutrality as soon as possible after 2050.

Osaka Gas said last week that potentially stricter rules on coal after 2030 were one of the reasons for its withdrawal from the 1.2 GW project.

In 2012, Japan planned to build 50 new coal-fired power plants with a total capacity of 23.23 GW. Thirteen units, or 7.03 GW, have been abandoned since 2017, according to data from environmental group Kiko Network.

"The strengthened policy of mega-banks in Japan to finance coal and the growing voice of large industrial companies seeking greener energy have also increased the pressure," said Yukari Takamura, professor at the Institute for Future Initiatives. from the University of Tokyo.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group now only funds ultra-efficient and ultra-efficient coal-fired power plants, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group evaluates projects according to the rules of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD).

A total of 19 Japanese companies, including Sony Corp and Fujifilm Holdings, have joined RE100, an organization whose members are committed to switching to 100% renewable electricity.

According to the government's energy outlook, Japan's coal-fired power generation is expected to fall to 281 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in the 2030 financial year, compared to 346 billion kWh in 2017.

The series of cancellations of new coal plants could have a long-term impact on the demand for thermal coal, forcing Australia, the largest fuel supplier in Japan, to look for other customers.