Gazhou, China - Progress of Ultra-Supercritical Coal-Fired Power Plants (December 2011 to 2020s)

Gazhou, China - Progress of Ultra-Supercritical Coal-Fired Power Plants (December 2011 to 2020s)

In December 2011, Japan Power Development Corporation (J-Power), Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) announced their participation in the ultra-supercritical (USC) coal-fired power plant project in Gazhou, Guangxi, China, being developed by Huarun Power Holding Co. The project will consist of two 1 MW-class generating units with a total output of approximately 2 MW, and will be designed with USC technology to achieve higher thermal efficiency and lower CO2 emissions compared to conventional power plants.

The three Japanese companies established "JM Energy" jointly with Huarun Power, and after obtaining approval from the Chinese government, they officially decided to participate in the project, with Unit 1 starting commercial operation on August 16, 2012 and Unit 2 on November 4, 2012. As a result, J-Power's overseas IPP projects totaled 30, with a total output of approximately 17.5 million kW (equity output of approximately 4.03 million kW), and the technologies of Japanese companies contributed to the realization of a low-carbon society in China.

In the 2020s, construction of coal-fired power plants continued in order to meet the growing energy demand in China as a whole; by 2022, the construction of coal-fired power plants equivalent to six times the world's total capacity had begun, and as of January 2023, China had 20 times the installed capacity of Japan. On the other hand, with the spread of renewable energy, the number of new permits fell by 83% year-on-year to only 9 GW in the first half of 2024.

The USC coal-fired power plant in Gazhou plays an important role in supplying electricity to the South China region, but the overall increase in coal-fired power generation poses a global warming challenge. In the future, there is a need to further introduce renewable energy and improve the efficiency of existing power plants, and the power plant in Gazhou City is attracting attention as a model case for sustainable energy use.