Second Unit of Fukushima Gas Fired Power Plant Starts

Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex) on August 24 announced that the second unit of Fukushima gas fired power plant has started commercial operations.

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 first unit began commercial operations in April this year.

The second LNG tank with 230,000 kiloliters capacity and additional regasification equipment of the second constriction phase in Soma LNG terminal was transferred to full-scale operation in the time with the commercial operation of second unit of the power plant, Japex said.

The Soma 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.