Tepco to raise gas turbines capacity at Kashima power plant

Thu Feb 9, 2012

TOKYO Feb 9 (Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power Co. said on Thursday it was making three emergency units at its Kashima power plant permanent, and upgrading their capacity to make up for power shortages caused by the shutdown of nuclear reactors over safety fears.

The Kashima plant, east of Tokyo, currently has a total capacity of 4,400 MW.

The units being upgraded were originally emergency gas-fired turbines that the Kashima plant relied on to generate more power after a March 2011 tsunami and earthquake damaged some Japanese nuclear reactors and led to the closure of several others.

The three units, which are due to start operating on a full-time basis in July, are capable of generating a combined 804 MW of power, but the upgrade, which will end by July 2014, will increase their capacity to 1,248 MW, Tepco said.

Tepco has also said it would upgrade three other emergency turbines at its Chiba power plant.

All but three of the Japan's 54 nuclear reactors are off-line, mostly for safety checks and the government is keen to boost power output to avoid a serious crunch in the summer, when demand for electricity peaks.

(sourced Reuters)

Xstrata increases coal price for Japanese buyer

Saturday, 13 Aug 2011

Daily Chinese Herald reported that Australian coal producer Xstrata will sell steam coal to Japan based Tokyo Electric Power Company at USD 127.5 per tonne FOB from October. This price is up 24% over the price in 2010.

Australia, one of the most important coal producers and exporters in the world, exports about 200 million tonne to 250 million tonne of high quality coal to the international market per year.

(sourced steelorbis)

Japanese Power resumes coal fired unit operations after problem

Friday, 12 Aug 2011

Japanese power wholesaler Electric Power Development said it resumed operations at the 1,050 MW coal fired No.2 unit in its Tachibana wan plant in western Japan at 11:36AM on Wednesday after an unplanned shutdown last month.

The unit was closed on July 30 after a problem. The company said at the time that it was expected to restart in mid August.

(Sourced from Reuters)

Japan likely to scrap all reactors at contaminated Fukushima nuke plant

Wed, Mar30, 2011 19:28:24

TOKYO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano on Wednesday said that it was highly likely that the stricken reactors at the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northern Japan would be scrapped.

Speaking at a news conference, the top government spokesperson said that he believed all six reactors at the troubled facility should be decommissioned.

He said scrapping the reactors would be in the best interests of society.

"I believe it is very clear from the viewpoint of society (that the reactors should be decommissioned). That is my perception," the chief cabinet secretary said.

In the absence of Masataka Shimizu, 66, estranged CEO of the nuclear plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) who having not been seen for the past two weeks was hospitalized yesterday due to high blood pressure and dizziness, TEPCO chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata said at least four of the reactors should be scrapped.

"We have no choice but to scrap reactors 1 to 4 if we look at their conditions objectively," Katsumata said at a separate news conference.

Edano said that the ongoing crisis will take some time before it is resolved and as such local residents evacuated from the vicinity of the Daiichi facility may not be able to return home anytime soon.

"Unfortunately, some time is needed before the situation is brought under control and we can be sure that people are safe from radiation," said Edano.

Earlier Wednesday the government was mulling taking the unprecedented measure of covering three of the badly damaged nuclear reactor buildings with special fabric caps and fitting air filters to limit radiation leakage.

The idea of anchoring an empty tanker near the troubled No. 2 reactor building so that workers can pump several hundred tons of highly-radioactive water into its storage facilities, has also been floated by government and nuclear experts.

Seawater near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility's No.1 reactor contained radioactive iodine at 3,355 times the legal limit and a spokesperson for Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said earlier on Wednesday and extraordinary measures must now be taken.

"The (radiation) figures are rising further," said the agency's Deputy Director-General Hidehiko Nishiyama.

"We need to find out as quickly as possible the cause and stop them from rising any higher. We are in an unprecedented situation, so we need to think about different strategies, beyond those we normally think about," Nishiyama added. (English.news.cn)

Tags : Chernobyl solution, over radiation leaks, Tokyo, Chernobyl disaster

Japanese steam coal contract may reach USD 145 per tonne in 2011- Macquarie

Thursday, 20 Jan 2011

According to an analyst report released, major Japanese utilities may be forced to pay nearly 50% more than a year ago for their largest annual thermal coal contracts as floods in Queensland push prices higher.
Macquarie Research in the report said that the price for the key Japanese fiscal year thermal coal contract could settle at USD 145 per tonne, up from USD 98 per tonne for the same contract last year.

A USD 145 per tonne price would be well over the record seen in 2008, when prices spiked due to flooding in Queensland and the annual contract settled at USD 125 per tonne.
Mr Hayden Atkins an analyst with Macquarie Research said that "The supply disruptions are severe ... by the end of February, we think spot pricing will be quite a bit higher and that's when contracts will be negotiated.”
Contracts generally settle around spot price levels, often with some premium built in for supply security.
The Japanese thermal coal contract, which runs from April 1 through March 31 of the following year, is a benchmark for other coal deals and is typically negotiated between Xstrata and large Japanese utilities including Tokyo Electric Power Co, Tohoku Electric Power Co Inc and Chubu Electric.
Supply issues are not limited to Australia, with other major coal producers also hit by weather that has disrupted production. Mr Atkins said that "There are problems in Colombia, Richards Bay (in South Africa) is running low on stocks and it's still rainy season in Indonesia.”

Many coal analysts are still in the process of updating their forecasts for the Japanese fiscal year contract, with informal estimates varying widely from USD 120 per tonne to USD 140 per tonne.
Japan is Australia's largest thermal coal buyer as well as the country with the largest demand for seaborne thermal coal globally.

Sourced from Reuters