Japan-headed Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd (SHI) has announced that it has established a joint venture (JV) with Chubu Plant Service Co., Ltd and secured an order for a biomass power plant to be built on Chubu Electric Power's Yokkaichi Thermal Power Plant site in Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. For SHI, this marks the first order for a dedicated biomass power plant received from an electric power company.
According to SHI, the plant will use SHI Group’s Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) boiler technology, which has over 490 references globally. The company’s boilers command a high share in the high-efficiency biomass power plant market worldwide, and this “track record was a key factor” in the securing of this order the value of which has not been disclosed.
The power plant, which was announced by Chubu Electric Power in May 2017, will use wood pellets, palm kernel shells (PKS), and other biomass materials as its main fuel source. It is designed to be a high-efficiency, dedicated biomass power plant that utilizes a reheating system whereby the steam that expands inside a steam turbine is re-sent into the boiler. By re-heating and re-sending the surplus steam into the steam turbine, high-efficiency power generation is achieved.
Construction is expected to begin in May with commercial operations expected to begin in April 2020.
