SOLID FUELS #JPNBTTSFQPXFSJOH+BQBO ACCORDING TO THE US ENERGY INFORMATION administration, Japan gets less than 10 percent of its total primary energy from domestic sources and is a heavy importer of oil, natural gas and coal. Biomass repowering An increased emphasis has been put on renewable energy and perhaps the most significant action came in 2012, when a government policy took effect that obligates utility companies to purchase electricity from renewable sources at fixed prices under long-term contracts. Commonly referred to as a “feed-in tariff”, the programme is intended to encourage investment in 40 Bioenergy International No 79, 3-2015 renewable energy, including solar, wind, geothermal, small hydroelectric operations and biomass. According to government figures about 90 MW of new generating capacity from biomass power plants was installed in the first two years of the feed-in tariff programme, second only to solar power. In addition, the Japanese government set the price that power plants can receive for electricity produced from forest trimming biomass to one of the highest in the feed-in tariff programme. Forest and feed-in About 70 percent of Japan is mountainous with trees that need to be trimmed and cut, making a good raw material source for producing fuel chips. – We need to utilise the forest resources, commented Daisuke Saito, senior managing director of Norin Inc., a company that produces fuel chips. Norin has been using Vermeer horizontal grinders for several years. Saito is also the senior managing director of Green Energy Aizu Inc., which operates the first biomass power plant in the westernmost region of Fukushima Prefecture. Fukushima is the location of the nuclear power plant that experienced a meltdown in 2011, although damage from that and the tsunami primarily occurred on the eastern side of The Vermeer HG6000E electric horizontal grinder with a variable frequency drive (VFD) is being introduced to a growing number of small biomass power plants in Japan. Generous feed-in tarrifs for utilizing forest thinnings and trimings has kindled interest in setting up such plants. the prefecture. Saito was interested in facilitating the introduction of Vermeer grinders to biomass plants in other regions. In 2013, Mike Byram, Vice President of Vermeer Environmental Solutions, told Saito they had just completed the HG6000E electric horizontal grinder with a VFD (variable frequency drive) and 762 horsepower (568 kW), which he thought had the size and power Saito was looking for. All about the chips The feed-in tariff and the availability of wood were two primary reasons Green Biomass Factory Co. pursued the production of electricity using wood waste. The company opened a 5.7 MW biomass power plant early this year in the city of Miyazaki on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan. The electricity it produces is purchased by utility companies and is enough to power up to 10 000 homes. Green Biomass Factory Co. bought an HG6000E electric-powered horizontal grinder with a chip drum based on Saito’s recommendation. The chip drum allows for a consistent chip size, which is vital in biofuel chip production. Most Japanese biomass power plants buy chips from outside suppliers like Norin. According to Saito the Green Biomass Factory’s facility, which began operations in February after three years of planning and construction, is the first to process logs to fuel Power became a major issue in 2011 for Japan. After the 9.0 magnitude earthquake the resulting tsunami overwhelmed the Fukushima nuclear power plant in northern Japan, causing a meltdown of three of its reactors and a subsequent shutdown of BMMPGUIFDPVOUSZTNPSFUIBOOV- clear reactors. At the time nuclear po- XFSBDDPVOUFEGPSBCPVUQFSDFOU of the island nation’s power generation and the government had plan- OFEUPJODSFBTFJUUPQFSDFOUCZ
Bioenergy no 3 May 2015
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