Japan adds to biomass power capacity over Jan-Mar

: Biomass
24/08/08

Japan's biomass-fired power capacity under the feed-in-tariff (FiT) and feed-in-premium (FiP) schemes rose during January-March this year.

Japan added 167MW over the quarter, lifting total commercial capacity under the FiT and FiP schemes to 6,454MW, according to trade and industry ministry data. The capacity additions during January-March were lower than 489MW a year earlier but higher than 60MW during October-December 2023.

Installed capacity fed by general wood biomass and crop residue totalled 3,875MW at the end of March, up by 11pc from the end of March 2023. Capacity firing with unused woody biomass rose by 8pc from the previous year to 544MW, while methane gas fermentation climbed by 12pc to 99MW. Capacity fed by general waste increased by 22pc to 564MW, with construction waste up by 59pc to 135MW.

Japan's operational biomass-fired power capacity totalled 7,328MW by the end of March, including 874MW that was installed before FiT was introduced in July 2012 but not transferred to receive support from the scheme. This capacity accounts for 92pc of Japan's biomass power target of 8,000MW by the April 2030-March 2031 fiscal year.

Total purchase costs for biomass power supplies under the FiT scheme reached ¥3.93 trillion ($26.9bn) for 150.7TWh from July 2012 to March 2024.

By Takeshi Maeda

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24/12/27

Viewpoint: Wood chip supply may tighten in 2025

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Viewpoint: Pellet boiler sales to drop in 2025

24/12/27

Viewpoint: Pellet boiler sales to drop in 2025

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Erex delays starting wood pellet production in Vietnam

24/12/16

Erex delays starting wood pellet production in Vietnam

Tokyo, 16 December (Argus) — Japan's renewable energy developer Erex will postpone the start-up of its wood pellet factory in Vietnam from December 2024 to around February 2025. The Tuyen Quang factory — which is the company's first wood pellet production project in Vietnam — has been running test operations, but cannot start commercial operations this month as initially scheduled, Erex said on 13 December. The company did not disclose the reasons for the delay. The factory in Tuyen Quang province will produce around 150,000 t/yr of wood pellets, mainly from locally-secured unused forest materials, and export them to other countries including Japan for biomass-fired power plants. The investment amount for this project is $20.4mn. Erex aims to build up to 20 wood pellet factories in Vietnam, and several ones in Cambodia. The company is also planning biomass-fired generation capacity in southeast Asia, with up to 18 power plants in Vietnam and five in Cambodia. The first one is scheduled to come on line this month in Vietnam. Erex's profits from projects in Vietnam and Cambodia are expected to grow rapidly and will account for more than 70pc of its whole profits around 2030, according to the company. By Takeshi Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU affirms 12-month deforestation delay

24/12/03

EU affirms 12-month deforestation delay

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Beccs 'interesting business model' for German biomass

24/11/29

Beccs 'interesting business model' for German biomass

Berlin, 29 November (Argus) — Costs for generating negative CO2 emissions through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (Beccs) technology in Germany are €103.43/t of CO2 on average for woody biomass, initial results of an unpublished study commissioned by the country's bioenergy association BBE suggests. The average cost of €103.43/t applies to 1t of liquid CO2, which meets food purity standards. This could be the foundation of an interesting future business model for biomass plants, if negative emissions are incorporated into the EU emissions trading system and gain traction as a counterbalance to Germany's residual "hard-to-abate" greenhouse gas emissions, BBE's wood energy consultant, Tim Pettenkofer, said this week. A 20.5MW biomass cogeneration plant could raise its revenues by about 13pc by investing in Beccs, study co-author Lennart Reese of Seeger Engineering suggested. The plant operator would go from annual power revenues of €5.5mn, assuming annual running hours of 8,000 and a power price of €125/MWh, to about €6.2mn, assuming a CO2 price of €120/t. The calculations assume an annuity of 10pc and take into account other factors such as lost earnings from the power volumes used to sequester and liquefy the CO2. Electricity for liquefaction is the biggest cost item of the Beccs process, with Seeger Engineering putting average costs at €28.75/t of CO2. The final study will also look into the costs for Beccs from biogas and bioethanol plants. Beccs costs in the solid biomass segment will be highest, as its tailpipe CO2 intensity is about 10-15pc, the CO2 not being a by-product of a production process and therefore necessitating additional investment in flue gas cooling and sequestration technology. The CO2 intensity for biomethane and bioethanol plants is about 25-45pc and 95pc, respectively. Germany's government estimates the country's residual and hard-to-abate emissions will stand at about 50mn t of CO2 equivalent by 2045. An earlier study by BBE estimated potential for 10.7mn t/yr of CO2 negative emissions from Beccs with existing bioenergy plants in Germany, or 12.9mn t/yr of CO2 based on expected future availability. By Chloe Jardine Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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