Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Ltd. (MHPS) recently began construction of an integrated coal gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) facility for Hirono IGCC Power GK which will be the next-generation 540-megawatt capacity power plant.
MHPS celebrated the start of construction with a groundbreaking ceremony, according to a company press release. In attendance were MHPS President and CEO Kenji Ando and MHPS Senior Vice President Atsushi Togawa.
The plant is slated to start operating in September 2021, the release said.
“Construction of the Hirono IGCC plant is one of a number of IGCC-related projects underway in Fukushima aimed at developing the region’s industrial infrastructure through realization of the world’s most advanced thermal power plants, as a way of contributing to local revitalization,” MHPS stated in a news release.
According to MHPS, the plant will be near the Hirono Thermal Power Station, is an oil and coal-fired plant operated by TEPCO Fuel & Power Inc. that has a capacity of 4,400 megawatts.
Manufacturing of the plant’s coal gasification furnace began in January at MHPS in Nagasaki, the release said. The company has also launched construction of IFCC facilities for Nakoso IGCC Power GK in Iwaki, Fukushima, which is slated to begin operating in September 2020.
