Engineering firm Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) will upgrade safety systems at Japan’s 1,070 MW Taketoyo coal-and-biomass power plant ahead of the planned resumption of biomass co-firing in June 2028 following a dust explosion that halted operations last year, Bioenergy Insight reported.
KHI said it will renovate the No. 5 unit by upgrading dust collection systems and installing fire detection and monitoring equipment designed to reduce the risk of fires and explosions in the wood pellet fuel-handling system. The work is scheduled to be completed by June 2028.
The Taketoyo plant began co-firing coal and biomass in August 2022, using around 500,000 tonnes of wood pellets annually with a biomass blending ratio of 17 per cent.
Operations were suspended after a dust explosion and fire in January 2024. Following repairs, the plant resumed operations in January 2025 using coal only.
JERA, Japan’s largest power producer by installed capacity, had originally planned to restart biomass co-firing in the first quarter of 2027 but has postponed the target to June 2028 to complete additional safety improvements.
When biomass operations resume, JERA plans to reduce the biomass co-firing ratio from 17 per cent to 8 per cent, saying safety remains its top priority.
The Taketoyo plant currently operates only during periods of peak electricity demand in summer and winter as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining power supply reliability.
