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Chubu Electric Power

Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (Chuden) is a publicly listed energy company headquartered in Japan. In 2019, its revenue was US$28.08 billion and installed capacity was 33.49 GW. Chuden has operations in Europe, Mozambique, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Singapore. It shows some progress towards a low-carbon transition but needs to go further.

Summary

Chuden ranks 32^nd with an ACT rating of 5.6D-. Japanese policy allows energy companies with electricity-generation activities to set targets that do not meet the Paris goals. In Japan’s 2030 energy plan, thermal generation accounts for 56%, which is insufficient to encourage electric utilities to meet their well-below 2-degree pathway. As with most of its Japanese peers, the shutdown of nuclear after the Fukushima accident has slowed down the speed at which Chuden is decarbonising. Chuden’s emissions intensity – that is, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced for every unit of electricity – increased from 473 gCO2e/kWh in 2010 to 518 gCO2e/kWh in 2011 as it replaced nuclear with gas and some coal. The company is relying on nuclear restarting in order to reduce emissions. While waiting, Chuden should invest heavily in renewables; it has insufficient levels of wind and solar for the low-carbon transition. A renewables target of 4.6 GW (or 15% of 2018 generation) in 2030 is far below that needed to align with its well-below 2-degree pathway.

Data availability information

Ranking position: #32 /50
Total score: 5.6 /20
Narrative Score: ABCDE
Trend Score: Trend line is up

Trend line is equal

Trend line is down

Performance module name	Performance module score	Rank (0-50)
Targets	1.7 /4	#23
Material Investment	2.9 /7	#19
Intangible Investment	0.0 /2	#19
Management	0.7 /4	#34
Policy Engagement	0.4 /1	#26
Business Model	0.0 /2	#49

Intangible investment: Chuden has several R&D projects in technologies with significant potential to mitigate climate change. In addition, the company recently invested in 40% of Toyota Green Energy, a joint venture with Toyota to develop and manage new renewable energy resources. However, little information is disclosed regarding spend or progress.

Material investment: Chuden is focusing on increasing the efficiency of its thermal plants – it runs the most efficient coal plant in the world (63.08% thermal efficiency) and has the highest overall thermal efficiency in Japan at 50%. However, efficient thermal electricity generation can in no way achieve the levels of decarbonisation required to meet the Paris goals. While the company invests in more efficient thermal and works to restart its nuclear plants, it is missing the opportunity renewables offer, especially in a country with few fossil fuel resources.

Trend

Chuden is awarded a trend score of -. If the company were reassessed in the near future, its score would likely worsen.

Chuden has chosen to cover its loss of nuclear generation with coal and gas. This continuing over-reliance on fossil generation and a low level of renewables growth mean that Chuden’s emissions intensity and absolute emissions are likely to remain high for the foreseeable future, resulting in increasing divergence from the company’s well-below 2-degree pathway. Overall, little is being done to change direction, beyond some limited investment in R&D.

Commitment: Chuden is planning to develop 2 GW of new renewables by 2030, taking its renewable capacity to 4.6 GW (15% of its 2018 generation). This is below Japan’s basic energy plan, which requires renewables to generate 22-24% of electricity by 2030. Chuden is working to increase the efficiency of its new coal and gas assets.
Transition plan: Chuden does not have a transition plan, but the Japanese government issues regular energy plans setting out national expectations of the electric utilities sector. The most recent national plan mandates a 44% non-fossil generation portfolio by 2030 (half renewables and half nuclear). It looks unlikely that Chuden will achieve this.
Present activities: Chuden is a 40% owner of the newly created joint venture Toyota Green Energy alongside Toyota. The company is also pushing to reopen Hamaoka nuclear station, which will help reduce its emissions intensity.
Legacy: Chuden has been improving the efficiency of its new fossil fuel plants and working on reopening Hamaoka nuclear station. Emissions intensity has reduced as the company replaces less efficient with more efficient thermal plants.
Consistency: Chuden’s position appears incoherent. It does not have its own transition plan but has signed up to the national 2030 energy plan for electric utilities. Its corporate communications show that it accepts the science of climate change, and it has signed up to the requirements of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures but has unambitious targets.

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2021

More about the company

Headquarters: Nagoya, Japan
Ownership structure: Publicly listed
Group revenue: US$28.08 billion (2019)
Installed capacity: 33.49 GW (2019)
Website: http://www.chuden.co.jp/english/

Chubu Electric Power

Leading practices

Intangible investment

Risks and opportunities

Material investment

Trend

Progress towards the Paris Agreement

Commitment

Transition plan

Present activities

Legacy

Consistency

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