Matsushima power station is a 1,000 MW coal power station in Nagasaki, Japan. It ranks #100 of 692 Japan power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1981, it is around 45 years old — long-established. Its modelled annual emissions are 5,560,300 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 1.3 million cars driven for a year. 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 WRI1000673.
Data status
Known data
Modelled source data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Capacity provenance
The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 500 MW for Matsushima power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).
Data provenance
Source of the capacity and fuel values:
capacity: Wikidata P2109; fuel: WRI GPPD
In context: how this plant compares
At 1,000 MW, Matsushima power station is well above the median coal plant in Japan (250 MW). Technically it is described as supercritical. Its current lifecycle status is “Mothballed” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. 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.
~5,560,300 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms
This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:
Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.
How it compares & nearby plants
The #20 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
- Kyuden Sangyo Ainoura power plant · Oil · 875 MW · Nagasaki
- Nagasaki NGS · Solar · 29 MW · Nagasaki
- Omura power station · Coal · 222 MW ·
- Koyagi Solar Power Plant · Solar · 2.6 MW · Nagasaki
- Tadewara · Solar · 13.2 MW · Nagasaki
- Ureshino Solar Power Plant · Solar · 1.6 MW · Saga Prefecture
Location
Coordinates 32.9409, 129.5969 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Matsushima power station?
Matsushima power station is a 1,000 MW coal power plant in Nagasaki, Japan, commissioned in 1981.
How much CO₂ does Matsushima power station emit?
Matsushima power station has modelled emissions of about 5,560,300 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).