TEPCO Renewable Power resumed commercial operation of the 8MW Unit 1 of its Kamikuya hydropower plant in Numata City, Gunma Prefecture, on September 19, 2026, following refurbishment, the company announced on September 24, 2026.
According to the statement, the original unit was shut down in November 2023 for turbine, generator, and penstock replacement. The company said it consolidated the turbine-generator sets from three to two while increasing expected generation by using higher-efficiency equipment. Unit 2 is also being repowered and is expected to come online within FY2026.
While TEPCO Renewable Power’s website indicated the asset’s overall capacity was 19MW as of the end of March 2025, the statement lists it at 15.74MW, suggesting it is being reduced as part of the refurbishment.
METI data shows a 16.4MW hydropower project the company planned at the site was certified under the feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme in FY2021, when 5MW to 30MW hydropower plants were offered 20 yen per kWh for 20 years.
Kamikuya Power Station was first commissioned in June 1925. It is the 36th hydropower plant in TEPCO Renewable Power’s portfolio to be repowered, following the 9.5MW Odagiri Power Station Unit 1 in Nagano Prefecture.
