Japex Starts Unit 1 of Fukushima Power Plant

Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex) April 30 started the first unit of the Fukushima gas-fired power plant located at Soma Port in Shinchi in Fukushima prefecture, it said on May 7 in a statement.

The power plant has been built by Fukushima Gas Power, which is 33% owned by Japex. Other partners include Mitsui (29%), Osaka Gas (20%), Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (9%), and Hokkaido Electric (9%).

The Fukushima power plant uses regasified LNG for fuel and has a generating capacity of 1.18mn kW by two-generation units. The second unit of the power plant is currently under commissioning, with commercial operation likely to start in the summer of 2020, Japex said.

Also, Japex said additional regasification facility at Soma LNG terminal started commercial operations on April 30. The terminal is the first large-scale LNG terminal in Fukushima prefecture, which is composed of a ground-type LNG storage tank with a capacity of 230,000 m³ – one of the largest in Japan – and two berths. A second tank is under construction, which Japex said will come online later this year.