Japan’s JERA to shut coal-fired power plants during off-season to cut carbon emissions

• 4 days ago (2025-03-21)
• David Flin

Asia 927 Coal 312

---

Japan’s JERA has announced it will shut down some coal-fired power plants in the spring and autumn when demand is low, rethinking the role of coal as a baseload power source.

The seasonal shutdowns will start in fiscal 2026 and aim to reduce CO2 emissions. JERA said it will initially shut plants with higher emission levels, including the Hekinan power plant near Nagoya. JERA will burn more LNG during periods when output from renewable sources don’t meet demand.

JERA is Japan’s largest generator of coal-fired power, with over 10 GW of capacity. The company plans to close inefficient coal-fired plants by 2030.

The Japanese government has a system to cover some of the maintenance costs for inactive coal-fired plants to keep them available as an emergency backup. However, it has yet to receive any applications, with power companies saying the cap on the subsidy was too low.