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Japan's Taketoyo biomass co-fired plant delayed further

  • Market: Biomass, Coal
  • 03/09/24

The 1.1GW coal and biomass co-fired Taketoyo No.5 generation unit, managed by Japan's largest power producer Jera, faces further delays in coming back on line after a fire in January.

Jera today announced safety measures to prevent the same kind of incident that led to the fire but failed to comment on when the unit is expected to restart operations. It has been off line following the fire, linked to exploding dust from wood pellets, according to the company's investigation.

The company aims to resume coal and wood pellets co-firing "as soon as possible", although it has yet to start repairs. Jera also plans to resume burning wood pellets imported from the US and Vietnam.

The company new safety measures include slowing down the speed of wood pellet conveyors to reduce friction, partially installing air pressure conveying facilities dedicated to wood pellets and equipping explosion suppressor systems for injecting fire extinguishing agents. Slowing down the wood pellet conveyors can affect the co-firing rate with coal and biomass, although the electricity output will not change, the company said.

The unit started commercial operations in August 2022 and burned 17pc of wood pellets with coal.

The impact of the closure of the unit because of the incident is estimated to cost more than ¥10bn ($68.5mn) for the 2024-25 fiscal year ending 31 March, with around half of it being replacement fuel costs that are mainly LNG purchases.


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Japan to phase out inefficient coal plants by 2030


03/10/24
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03/10/24

Japan to phase out inefficient coal plants by 2030

London, 3 October (Argus) — 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. By Shreyashi Sanyal Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Colombia coal mining could halt with government decree


03/10/24
News
03/10/24

Colombia coal mining could halt with government decree

Bogota, 3 October (Argus) — Colombia's coal operations could come to a stop as the government will soon start issuing resolutions that regulate mining areas as temporary environmental reserves, Colombian Mining Association (ACM) director Juan Camilo Narino said. The decree, enacted on 30 January, states the country's environment ministry will identify, delimit and declare through administrative acts reserves of natural resources in areas that require restoration and rehabilitation. Such areas will become environmentally protected zones for five years with the possibility of extending that period for an additional five years. The decree takes away the autonomy and competence of the Regional Autonomous Corporations, which until now grants key licensing to keep coal operations running, but without those licences, coal operations could come to a halt, Narino told Argus on the sidelines of a hydrocarbon summit held in Cartagena. Narino said coal, gold, copper and other types of mining firms are extremely concerned with the potential resolutions due to be issued as they need minor licences granted by the corporations. Such licensing includes environmental licences to pour water into channels, take water from rivers and to pass over rivers. The environment ministry is likely to announce those resolutions at the CBD Cop 16 in Cali, Colombia, on 21 October-2 November. Colombia is set to champion a comprehensive and regionally inclusive approach to biodiversity conservation and climate action at this conference. "The decree clearly states that those corporations could no longer grant permits," Narino said. "As a result, the operating activity of existing licences is unfeasible as you can no longer operate without those minor licences." ACM has filed a lawsuit against the decree, while 11 industry unions, including the regional autonomous corporations, joined in suing the government in a lawsuit submitted on 6 August. They filed the lawsuits with Colombia's state council, the highest administrative court in the country, while requesting precautionary measures including halting the decree. The state council agreed on studying the lawsuit and could annul the ruling, but it could take 6-12 months to examine the case. The state council must listen to the defendants — the environment ministry — lawyer Luis Eduardo Delgado Martinez said. Environmental minister Susana Muhamad was summoned by congress to face a political control debate to explain the scope of the decree, Narino noted. Narino levelled several other criticisms against the decree, including calling the time frame of the temporary environmental reserve designations arbitrary. He also said IT bypasses other legal and constitutional norms. By Diana Delgado Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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EU commission pushes for 12-month deforestation delay


02/10/24
News
02/10/24

EU commission pushes for 12-month deforestation delay

Brussels, 2 October (Argus) — The European Commission has proposed an extra 12 months' "phasing-in time" to implement the bloc's EU deforestation regulation (EUDR). The commission also published the outlines of the EUDR methodology to classify countries as low, standard or high-risk. It said a large majority of countries worldwide will be classified as "low risk". The commission said that three months ahead of the intended implementation at the end of this year, "several global partners" have repeatedly expressed concerns about preparedness and that European stakeholder preparation is "also uneven". It added that the delay in "no way puts into question the objectives or the substance of the law". German agriculture minister Cem Ozdemir last month called for the commission to "urgently" postpone the EUDR's implementation by six months . The commission can "create all the necessary conditions on its own" for a delay, without renegotiating the EUDR, he said. Parliament's largest centre-right EPP group has also pushed to delay the regulation. Officials published "additional" guidance documents and a "stronger" international co-operation framework for global stakeholders, EU states and third countries. The change requires approval from EU states and European Parliament to make the EUDR applicable from 30 December 2025 for large companies. The date would be pushed back to 30 June 2026 for small firms. A group of major firms such as Ferrero, Mars Wrigley, Mondelez International and Nestle called for no reopening of the EUDR's "substance". The group, joined by several campaign organisations including Fairtrade International, said renegotiating aspects of the EUDR would only increase uncertainty and jeopardise the investments made for application. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Groups challenge Montana coal mine expansion


01/10/24
News
01/10/24

Groups challenge Montana coal mine expansion

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