Kansai starts new Himeji-Daini CCGT unit

OREANDA-NEWS. Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power started commercial operations yesterday at the 486.5MW Himeji-Daini No.6 combined-cycle gas-turbine (CCGT) generation unit, around seven months ahead of its original schedule. The unit in western Japan's Hyogo prefecture has been having test runs since 10 October last year.

Kansai has now completed the refurbishment of all the six conventional gas-fired units at Himeji-Daini through the addition of CCGT technology. But the older 600MW No.5 and No.6 units are expected to continue operating until the end of the 2020-21 fiscal year to help offset the country's nuclear power shortages. Another four conventional units have been already decommissioned.

The CCGT technology improves thermal efficiency at Himeji-Daini plant by 18 percentage points to around 60pc, while expanding generation capacity by 14.5pc to 2,919MW. This will help cut carbon emissions intensity from 0.47kg CO2/kWh to 0.327kg CO2/kWh.

Kansai consumed 8.5mn t of LNG last year. This was higher by around 12pc against 2013 and by 73pc compared with 2010, prior to the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster that led all Japan's 48 reactors to shut for reinforcement work to meet tougher safety standards.