The endorsement is a reversal of the stance adopted by the environment minister in November when she said she wouldn’t support two other coal projects because a voluntary framework set up by the power industry to cut greenhouse gas emissions wasn’t sufficient. In February, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which has the final authority to approve individual coal power projects, said it will require power producers to boost the efficiency of their plants after power companies set up a council to review efforts to cut emissions. The two projects include a 650-megawatt (MW) project planned by Chubu Electric Power Co. and Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings and a 645-MW unit proposed by Electric Power Development Co. and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. Both coal-fired power plants will be located in Ibaraki prefecture, which lies roughly 100 km (62 miles) north of Tokyo.

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