The Kawasaki biomass power station, Japan’s largest 100% wood biomass-fired thermal power plant located in Kanagawa Prefecture, will start operation on February 1.
The output capacity of the power plant is 33 MW. The plant will use about 180,000 tons of wood chips annually consisting mainly of wood waste from construction sites. A final inspection is currently underway in preparation for the start of operation.
The power plant is jointly owned by Sumitomo Joint Electric Power Co., Ltd. and two other companies. Once operational, it will run 24 hours a day except for maintenance downtime. Generated power will be purchased by JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation, which leases the land for the power plant and an adjacent wood chip production plant.
There are other 100% wood biomass-fired power plants in Japan, including the 21-MW power plant of Gonoike Bioenergy Corporation, located in Ibaraki Prefecture and owned by two companies including Mitsubishi Corporation, as well as the 13.6-MW power plant of Agatsuma Biopower, located in Gunma Prefecture and owned by Orix Corporation and Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. The Kawasaki biomass power station is larger than these existing power plants in terms of output.
