Kyushu Electric power began the environmental impact assessment process for repowering the thermal Shin Kokura Power Station in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture.
According to the “document on primary environmental impact consideration” submitted to METI and other stakeholders on March 27, 2025, Kyushu EPCO plans to replace the power plant’s existing Units 3 and 5, each a 600MW LNG-fired steam turbine, with a new Unit 6 consisting of a pair of 600MW LNG-fired combined-cycle gas turbines.
Unit 6 construction is expected to begin in FY2027 on the site of former Units 1 and 2. Unit 6’s first turbine is expected to be commissioned in FY2030 with the second one scheduled to come online in FY2031.
Shin Kokura Power Station was commissioned in 1961 when its coal-fired Unit 1 began commercial operation. Unit 2 followed in 1962. Both were later converted to burn oil and, ultimately, LNG. Units 3, 4, and 5, all LNG-fired from the beginning, were put into service in 1978, 1979, and 1983, respectively. The first two units were decommissioned in 2004. Unit 4 has been offline since 2021.
The repowering aligns with Japan’s utilities’ move away from coal and older, less efficient LNG-fired plants to newer technologies. In the future, Kyushu EPCO is planning to add a carbon capture and storage (CCS) system at the newly built unit.
