Kobelco Power Moka, Inc. begins commercial operation of No. 2 unit at Moka Power Plant

Kobe Steel, Ltd.’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Kobelco Power Moka, Inc., announces today that the No. 2 unit of its Moka Power Plant has begun commercial operation.

With the start of commercial operation of the No. 2 unit, following the No. 1 unit that began commercial operation last October, the Moka Power Plant has entered into full-fledged operation with a power generation capacity of 1,248 MW (624 MW x 2 units) in Moka, Tochigi Prefecture. Kobelco Power Moka confirmed yesterday that the No. 2 unit has satisfied the prescribed conditions for performance, enabling commercial operation to begin.

The Moka Power Plant, which is supplied with city gas by Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., generates electricity with one of the highest levels of efficiency in Japan using gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) power generation, a state-of-the-art method. Also, the Moka Power Plant is not located in a coastal area where many power plants are often situated. It is located inland where there is no risk of encountering tsunami. Owing to the dispersion of risks, the project has been selected as an example of strengthening the national resilience and energy infrastructure by Japan’s Cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. This power generation business aims to contribute to society by improving the power generation self-sufficiency rate, in achieving the goal set by Tochigi Prefecture.

Under its Fiscal 2016–2020 Group Medium-Term Management Plan, the Kobe Steel Group has positioned the electric power business as one of its three core business areas along with the materials businesses and the machinery businesses. Continuing the stable operation of the existing No. 1 unit and No. 2 unit of the Kobe Power Plant, the Group had been steadily advancing two new power generation projects, one in Moka and the other in Kobe. In addition to the Moka Power Plant, the No. 3 unit and No. 4 unit of the Kobe Power Plant are currently under construction and are anticipated to go into commercial operation in fiscal 2022. After the completion of these plants, the total power generation capacity of the Kobe Steel Group will reach 4,000 MW. In accordance with the nation’s energy goals, the Kobe Steel Group contributes to strengthening Japan’s electric power infrastructure by providing high-efficiency thermal power plants and an economic and stable supply of electricity.

The Moka Power Plant plans to open a facility within its premises to introduce the features of the power generation units in June 2020.

The GTCC method employs a gas turbine to directly turn a generator to produce electricity, in combination with a steam turbine in which steam generated by a boiler is used to turn a turbine generator to produce electricity.

The gas turbine generator produces electricity by burning fuel heated to a high temperature under high pressure. The high-temperature exhaust heat from the gas turbine generator is used to generate steam in the boiler, and the steam is used by the steam turbine generator to produce electricity. In addition to gas turbine power generation, the effective utilization of waste heat from the gas turbine increases power generation efficiency, as opposed to using general gas turbines and steam turbines for power generation.

Company name：

Kobelco Power Moka, Inc.

Representative：

Akihisa Fujio

Capital：

600 million yen (100% owned by Kobe Steel)

Location：

12-1, Kinugaoka 1-chome, Moka, Tochigi
(Adjacent to Kobe Steel’s Moka Plant, within the Moka No. 5 Industrial Park)

Power generation method：

Gas turbine combined cycle generation

Power generation capacity：

1,248 MW (624 MW x 2 units)

Fuel：

City gas

Site area：

Approximately 9 ha

Main equipment：

Gas turbines, steam turbines, heat recovery steam generators, denitrification equipment, air-cooled condensers, other equipment

Start of commercial operation：

No. 1 unit: October 1, 2019,
No. 2 unit: March 1, 2020