In Japan, Air Water & Energia Power Onahama Co., Ltd (AWEP Onahama), a special purpose joint venture owned by Air Water Inc. and Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc. has commenced commercial operations of the 75 MW Onahama Biomass Power Plant in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture.
Compatriot JFE Engineering Corporation (JFEE) acted as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the project. One of the larger plats of its kind, the core technology – a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler along with flue gas cleaning equipment – was supplied by Valmet.
Although the plant is multi-fuel capable, AWEP Onahama will use palm kernel shells (PKS) and wood pellets as the main fuels. All the electricity generated will be supplied to the grid under the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme.
According to Chugoku Electric Power, the power plant was built on the site of the Nihonkaisui Onahama factory that was forced to close operations on account of the Great East Japan Earthquake. It is part of the revitalization of the Iwaki City region as well as Fukushima Prefecture’s aim to “creating 100 percent of the Prefecture’s energy demand with renewable energy.”
