is a
liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fired
thermal power station operated by
Tohoku Electric
is an electric utility, servicing 7.6 million individual and corporate customers in six prefectures in Tōhoku region plus Niigata Prefecture. It provides electricity at 100 V, 50 Hz, though some area use 60 Hz.
Tohoku Electric Power ...
in the city of
Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan. The facility is located on the
Pacific coast.
History
At the time Tohoku Electric was founded, all of its power generation facilities were
hydroelectric power plants, mostly concentrated along the
Agano River basin in
Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...
. As a result, northeastern Japan faced chronic power shortages. As the Hachinohe area was selected as a center for heavy industry by the Japanese government, industrial power consumption was expected to increase, and Tohoku Electric started construction on its first thermal power plant in September 1956. The plant was completed in June 1958. A total of four units were completed. Units 1 and 2 were abolished in 1982 and Unit 4 in 2006, due to aging equipment and a decline in operating rates.
After the 2011
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...
, Unit 5 was rushed into service to make up for a shortfall in electrical generating capacity. Unit 5 was subsequently upgraded to an advanced
combined cycle
A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...
plant by installing an additional waste heat recovery boiler, steam turbine, and generator. At that time, it was also converted from
diesel fuel to LNG. The upgraded plant came back on line on August 7, 2014 and its conversion to LNG was completed by July 1, 2015.
On August 7, 2014, the combined cycle of Unit 5 was completed and commercial operation began
Diesel fuel was initially used as fuel, but on November 28, 2012, JX Nippon Oil & Energy signed a supply contract for natural gas, and it was announced that it would be supplied from the company's Hachinohe LNG terminal
The switch to natural gas was implemented on July 1, 2015, and improved power generation capacity and thermal efficiency
Unit 3 was abolished on July 1, 2016 due to aging equipment.
The 1.5 MW Hachinohe Solar Power Plant was built on the site of the scrapped thermal power units and started operation on December 20, 2011
Plant details
See also
{{Portal, Japan, Energy
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Energy in Japan
Energy in Japan refers to energy and electricity production, consumption, import and export in Japan. The country's primary energy consumption was 477.6 Mtoe in 2011, a decrease of 5% over the previous year.
The country lacks significant do ...
*
List of power stations in Japan
External links
Tohoku Electric list of major power stations
1958 establishments in Japan
Energy infrastructure completed in 1958
Natural gas-fired power stations in Japan
Hachinohe
Photovoltaic power stations in Japan
Buildings and structures in Aomori Prefecture