Initiatives at Thermal Power Plants in JapanSustainability

JERA has been delivering electric power for years through power plant and fuel terminal operation and maintenance. We coexist with local communities and will continue to support manufacturing and provide a comfortable way of life in our communities.

Kawasaki Thermal Power Station

Kawasaki Thermal Power Station
Kawasaki Thermal Power Station is a state-of-the-art power plant that uses environmentally friendly liquefied natural gas (LNG) and achieves the highest standards of performance due to its combined cycle power generation system with gas and steam turbines. Group 2 Units 2-2 and 2-3 (MACC II) achieved a combustion gas temperature of 1,600°C and further improved performance, reducing both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by around 30%.
Power generation equipment Output(MW) Fuel Start of operation Type of power generated
Group 1 Unit 1-1 500 LNG February 2009 Combined
cycle
Unit 1-2 500 June 2008
Unit 1-3 500 June 2007
Group 2 Unit 2-1 500 February 2013
Unit 2-2 710 January 2016
Unit 2-3 710 June 2016
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Coexisting with Local Communities

Supplying Heat to Neighboring Factories

A portion of the steam used to generate power is supplied to neighboring companies through pipes laid in the area. The effective use of this steam helps save energy and reduce CO2 emissions throughout the entire region when compared to each company producing steam independently.
Steam supply pipe

Steam supply pipe

Power Plant Tours

In addition to in-person tours, Kawasaki Thermal Power Station has offered online tours since 2020 as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The online tours have allowed people to participate remotely from their homes and have been well-received. In FY2021, 382 people joined the in-person tours, and 1,213 people participated in online tours.
Power plant tour

Power plant tour

Contributing to Stable Supply

Combined cycle power generation fueled by LNG is highly adaptive to load changes in electricity demand compared to other forms of thermal power generation. This means that output can be adjusted significantly in a short period of time; for example, output can be raised from 50% to full capacity in as little as 10 minutes.

Currently, Kawasaki Thermal Power Station also plays a role in adjusting output according to fluctuations in power generation from renewable energy sources, which are affected by weather and other factors, thereby contributing to a stable supply of electricity on a daily basis.

Source: “10 questions for understanding the current energy situation in FY 2021 version,” available on the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy website

Contributing to Stable Supply

Kawasaki Thermal Power Station was the first power plant in eastern Japan to implement the Toyota-style kaizen system for inspection and maintenance operations to improve power generation facility performance. The plant has achieved a significant reduction in maintenance time through three basic pillars for optimizing regular inspections: (1) off-line setup, (2) simultaneous operation, and (3) refinement.

This system enables us to promote the operating rate of the highly efficient Kawasaki Thermal Power Station and reduce operations at inefficient thermal power plants, thereby achieving overall optimization of operations at our thermal power generation facilities and contributing to the reduction of fuel costs and CO2 emissions. JERA was the first power generation company to adopt this kaizen approach internally, and now, after further study, we have developed our own “JERA-style kaizen” to further improve on this approach.

Equipment inspection

Equipment inspection