Kushiro Mill Npi power station — Japan

Kushiro Mill Npi power station is a 145 MW coal power station in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by Nippon Paper Industries Co Ltd [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 181k homes (estimated). It ranks #219 of 692 Japan power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1986, it is around 40 years old — long-established. In context, coal supplies about 32.1% of Japan's electricity; the national grid averages 477 gCO₂/kWh (32.7% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEM_coa_kushiromillnpi_japan.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000102899; fuel: GEM GCPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 145 MW, Kushiro Mill Npi power station is below the median coal plant in Japan (250 MW). Technically it is described as subcritical. Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Share of Japan coal capacity

0.3% of 53,431 MW across 94 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

15 of 83 dated coal plants in Japan are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest coal plants in Japan

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Nippon Paper Industries Co Ltd [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 43.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 79% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 89/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #58 largest coal power plant of 94 in Japan by capacity.

Japan has 94 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 53,431 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Kushiro - Hoshigaura Solar Power Plant · Solar · 1.5 MW · Hokkaido
• Kushiro - Tsuruno Solar Power Plant · Solar · 21.7 MW · Hokkaido
• Kushiro power station · Coal · 112 MW · Hokkaidō
• Boyo Kushiro · Solar · 1.4 MW · Hokkaido
• Masuura Kushiro · Solar · 2.1 MW · Hokkaido
• Shiranuka Solar Power Plant · Solar · 30 MW · Hokkaido

Location

Coordinates 43.006634, 144.35858 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions