TOKYO: Japanese utility Okinawa Electric Power Co said on Wednesday it had started accepting the first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) ahead of the planned launch later this year of the company's first gas-fired plant.
The move indicates that the company, which serves the southwestern Japan island of Okinawa and the surrounding regions, is progressing towards the start of commercial operations of the 251-megawatt No.1 gas-fired unit at the Yoshinoura plant in November, followed by the 251-MW No.2 unit in May 2013.
Okinawa Electric said it accepted the delivery of 65,000 tonnes of LNG from Australia on Tuesday.
The company, which has no nuclear plants, signed a contract last year to buy about 400,000 tonnes of LNG per year from Osaka Gas Co for 27 years from April 2012.
With the start of Yoshinoura plant, the company expects to lessen its reliance on oil and coal.
Japanese appetite for LNG has rocketed since the Fukushima crisis decimated public confidence in nuclear power.