Japan to import Indonesia low-medium rank coal

By Rikordias D. Siahaan

After years of importing high rank coal from Indonesia to help fuel its power plants at home, Japan now is considering to renovate or build new power plants that will use low-medium rank coal as the input.

?Although we have been using high rank coal, but our long term planning will much likely tend to utilize medium and low rank coal,? said Katsuhisa Shimakura, head of Japanese delegation at the Indonesia-Japan Coal Policy Dialogue on Wednesday in Jakarta.

?Our energy policy hasn?t explicitly say utilization of medium and low rank (coal), but the policy is going there,? said Shimakura, who is also Head of Coal Division at Japan?s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Shimakura nevertheless, said Japan would import more low rank coal from Indonesia where the supply is sustainable and stable.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak