<article><p class="lead">Japan's LNG demand is estimated to increase by 22mn t/yr if all insufficient coal-fired power units are replaced by new gas-fired power units, according to the latest assessment by government-affiliated think-tank the Institute of Energy Economics Japan (IEEJ).</p><p>Japan currently has 30,030MW of coal-fired power generation capacity, which uses less advanced technologies than supercritical. The country's coal demand is likely to fall by 64mn t/yr if all the insufficient capacity is scrapped by the April 2030-March 2031 fiscal year, the IEEJ said. Coal power output is estimated to fall by 165mn MWh/yr. </p><p>The loss of coal-fired power capacity would be offset by burning additional 22mn t/yr of LNG to produce 164.7mn MWh/yr. The IEEJ did not consider more introduction of renewable and nuclear power sources in its assessment. </p><p>Japan had 49,440MW coal-fired power capacity in August, with another 3,140MW targeted for commissioning by the end of March 2022 and 5,050MW planned afterwards. The decommissioning of 30,030MW of insufficient coal-fired capacity would increase the country's overall coal-fired power generation efficiency by 1.2pc, the IEEJ said. </p><p>Japan's energy and industry ministry (Meti) in July <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2120188">proposed a plan</a> to start discussing scrapping inefficient coal-fired power plants over the next 10 years to accelerate its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The prime minister then declared in October a goal to achieve a <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2153478">carbon-neutral society</a> by 2050.</p><p class="bylines">By Motoko Hasegawa</p></article>
