The Japanese government is preparing new environmental assessment standards for coal-fired power plants in a step toward lifting its virtual ban on construction, in effect since 2005.
Seeking to balance energy security with efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, regulators are shifting to a more pragmatic approach.
Under the new standards, construction or expansion will be permitted if the proposed facility is on par with or exceeds the environmental performance of state-of-the-art coal power plants currently in operation. The move is intended to encourage companies to begin generating power with coal, a cheaper fuel than petroleum or liquefied natural gas.
The Environment Ministry has been blocking construction of coal power plants with its assessment process. Since 2005, no such commercial facilities have passed the assessment.
The new standards are expected to be first applied to a Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) fossil-fuel plant. The utility has been soliciting supplier bids since February, and is likely to close the bid on May 24, with plans to start the environmental assessment within the year. Considering that the screening is expected to take at least two years, approval will likely come in 2015.
Tepco has been depending on LNG for some 70% of its power supply after the nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The new plant would help diversify its energy sources. With coal production sites dispersed relatively widely across the globe, the fuel is considered a stable alternative to nuclear power.
However, CO2 emissions from coal-fired power generation are about 50% greater than those from LNG. The government is likely to amend its earlier target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from 1990 levels by 2020, and set a new target later this year.
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