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Small players pushing geothermal agenda in Japan

Small players pushing geothermal agenda in Japan Flow tests at Amemasudake project site, Hokkaido, Japan (source: project release Oct 2015)
Alexander Richter 21 May 2016

Without participation of the big corporations, it is up to smaller companies in Japan to develop geothermal projects.

Without the big geothermal push happening in the country, there are still companies that are actively pursuing geothermal development in Japan. One of the companies is Tokyo-based Renova Inc., a company that started out in the waste-recycling business and is now pushing forward with energy projects.

With 190 MW of solar power projects either operating or under construction in Japan, the company is also looking at the development of geothermal project sin the prefectures of Hokkaido and Kumamoto.

The company aims to develop geothermal projects of up to 10 MW in capacity which are close to grid connection.

This is in line with several other smaller players pushing for development, while the larger players, such as energy companies and the turbine suppliers are surprisingly uninterested in geothermal development in Japan.

Source: Bloomberg