Japan’s Kansai Electric cancels new LNG-fired power plant

• 4 months ago (2023-12-19)
• David Flin

Asia 850 Nuclear 640

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Kansai Electric has decided not to build a new LNG-fired power plant southwest of Osaka, deciding to focus instead on hydrogen, nuclear, and renewable energy.

The 3.7 GW facility had been scheduled to come online in fiscal 2023/24. As a result of the costs incurred, Kansai Electric is expecting to incur losses for this fiscal year. The company will do further work on the site to ready it for other businesses.

The decision was a result of the restart of the nuclear power plants halted following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster. All of Kansai Electric’s nuclear reactors that it intends to continue operating are now back online. The company said it is focusing its efforts on keeping its nuclear plants running long-term, including by rebuilding aging facilities.