Monthly Report

JERA outlines accident prevention plan amid efforts to restart fire-damaged Taketoyo Power Station

September 10, 2024
Taketoyo Thermal Power Station
JERA’s Taketoyo Thermal Power Station co-fires woody biomass with coal. (Image: JERA)

At the fourth and final meeting of the Taketoyo Thermal Power Station Accident Investigation Committee held on September 3, 2024, the power plant’s operator JERA presented measures it will take to prevent accidents like the one that happened on January 31, 2024, from happening again.

According to JERA, the January 31, 2024, accident in which an explosion in the power plant’s unit 5 led to a fire that damaged the unit and part of its fuel conveying system was caused by a number of factors including high concentration of biomass fuel dust due to high-speed transport and friction in the conveying system.

To prevent similar accidents from happening in the future and work toward restoring operation of the only non-decommissioned, 1.07GW unit of the biomass co-firing coal power plant, JERA will:

  • Use its current fuel transport system exclusively for coal and install a new pneumatic transport system for biomass fuel to eliminate the risk of friction causing an ignition
  • Equip the biomass transport system with safety devices such as explosion suppressors
  • Reduce biomass transport speed to limit dust generation

Taketoyo Coal Power Plant’s first unit was commissioned in 1966 and decommissioned in 2002. Units 2 through 4 started operation in 1972 and were decommissioned in 2016. Unit 5, which co-fires coal with woody biomass (17%), was commissioned in 2022.

JERA is a 50:50 joint venture between TEPCO Fuel & Power, which is wholly owned by TEPCO Holdings, and Chubu Electric Power. It is Japan’s largest power generator.

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