Japan's largest power producer by capacity Jera and trading house Marubeni plan to reduce CO2 emissions at the 1GW No.2 unit of the Cirebon coal-fired power generation plant in Indonesia.
Jera and Marubeni agreed on 3 October to study decarbonisation measures for the Cirebon No.2 unit with Indonesian state-owned power utility PLN, as part of the third ministerial-level meeting of the Japan-led decarbonisation platform Asia Zero Emission Community (Azec), Jera told Argus on 21 October. Cirebon Electric Power, the power plant operating firm funded by Jera, Marubeni, as well as other Indonesian and South Korean companies, and PLN are considering exploring potential implementation of decarbonisation measures like biomass co-firing, ammonia co-firing, and carbon capture and storage or carbon capture, use and storage. Jera is unsure which measure has the most potential.
The firms plan to conduct research for the next two years. But the schedule after 2027 and details of its CO2 reduction goal are not clear.
The No.2 Cirebon unit, which is equipped with an ultra-supercritical generator — a piece of advanced technology to improve power generation efficiency — started its operations in May 2023. It consumed coal from Indonesia.
The 660MW No.1 Cirebon coal-fired power generation unit may be retired early with the Indonesian government's push. Jakarta is aiming to remove up to 6.7GW of coal-fired generation capacity by 2040 and to completely remove coal-fired power plants from its overall generation mix by 2058, in pursuit of its net zero target by 2060.
The Japanese government is eager to promote both economic growth and decarbonisation in Asia-Pacific countries, instead of focusing only on decarbonisation. The ministerial-level meeting concluded with a joint statement reaffirming Azec's "one goal, various pathways" approach, which recognises country-specific decarbonisation strategies. It also endorsed a "triple breakthrough" framework aimed at achieving climate mitigation, inclusive growth and energy security.
