Idemitsu Kosan, Kyushu Electric Power and Tokyo Gas Co have brought an end to plans to build a new coal-fired coal plant in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
The partners had initiated a feasibility study into the development of 2 GW of coal-fired thermal capacity at an Idemitsu-owned industrial site in Sodegaura City, but now say that they will instead investigate options for building a gas-fired plant using LNG.
The three companies said in a statement that the proposed coal plant “cannot yield initially expected investment returns”. Their decision follows a similar decision made in late 2018 by Chugoku Electric Power and JFE Steel, a unit of JFE Holdings.
Japan’s government has warned that the country may not be able to achieve its carbon targets if plans by various energy companies to build new coal capacity proceed.
