Sakata Kyodo power station — Japan

Sakata Kyodo power station is a 700 MW coal power station in Yamagata, Japan. It is operated by Sakata Kyodo Electric Power Co. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 876k homes (estimated). It ranks #123 of 692 Japan power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1978, it is around 48 years old — long-established. Its modelled annual emissions are 3,891,400 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 907k 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 WRI1020077.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000102969; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 700 MW, Sakata Kyodo power station is well above 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.

~3,891,400 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.

Key facts

Share of Japan coal capacity

1.3% of 53,431 MW across 94 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

8 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 Sakata Kyodo Electric Power Co.

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 39.0°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 9% 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: 54/100 — this site sits in the mid 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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), 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 #26 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

• Uenotai · Geothermal · 27.5 MW · Akita
• Onikobe · Geothermal · 15 MW · Miyagi
• Mukaihama Biomass power station · Biomass · 20.5 MW · Akita
• Nippon Paper Akita power station · Coal · 112 MW · Akita Prefecture
• Furukawa · Solar · 40.3 MW · Miyagi
• Akita · Oil · 1,300 MW · Akita

Location

Coordinates 38.9686, 139.8322 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions