Renaissance of Japanese geothermal market on the horizon
Yamagawa geothermal power plant, Japan
Alexander Richter
6 Feb 2014
With several geothermal power projects mostly up to 15 MW due to existing feed-in-tariffs, there seems to be a renaissance of geothermal power now on the horizon in Japan.
There are now several projects planning to build mid-sized geothermal power plants across Japan.
This week we already reported on a small scale project of 2 MW by Chuo Electric Power Co. to go online in April this year, the first geothermal power plant in Japan in 15 years at Oguni Hot Springs in Kumamoto Prefecture. But there are more project all over the country.
“According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, around 20 locations across the country are under survey for potential geothermal power generation by trading houses, oil companies, local governments, hot spring associations and other entities. Apart from this, preliminary surveys are also underway at 42 locations in the country, signaling the arrival of a booming geothermal market in the near future.
“Orix and Toshiba are seeking to launch the operation of a geothermal plant in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, sometime around the spring of 2015, followed by the construction of similar facilities in the Hokkaido, Tohoku and Kyushu regions.
There are also dozens of other plans across the country to build geothermal plants each with a maximum output of less than 15,000 kilowatts.
While large-scale geothermal plants normally require environmental assessments spanning three to four years, mid-sized geothermal power stations are not subject to such regulations. The purchase price for renewable energy generated by a power plant whose maximum output is less than 15,000 kilowatts is also set relatively high at 42 yen ($0.41) per kilowatt hour under the feed-in tariff system, encouraging new companies to enter the business. The purchase price is set far cheaper at 27.3 yen ($0.27) per kilowatt hour for renewable energy generated by plants with a maximum output of 15,000 kilowatts or more.
A consortium of 10 companies including Idemitsu Kosan Co. and Inpex Corp. is planning to develop the nation’s largest geothermal plant within the Bandai-Asahi National Park in Fukushima Prefecture, with an output capacity of 270,000 kilowatts. The consortium is eyeing to start operating the plant sometime in the early 2020s.”
Source: Mainichi
