In Japan, Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) has announced that it has made the decision to convert the 112 MWe Suzukawa Energy Center power plant in Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture from coal to wood pellets having come to terms with conditions for procuring wood pellets and completing arrangements for non-recourse project finance.
Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mitsubishi Corporation Power Ltd. (MC Power), MC and its partners Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. (Nippon Paper) and Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (Chubu Electric) established the Suzukawa Energy Center Ltd (Suzukawa EC) in September 2013. Suzukawa EC went online in September 2016, with a rated output of 112 MWe.
The partners have been in discussions since then on developing a dedicated biomass power generation project at Suzukawa EC. After converting Suzukawa EC’s facilities in Fuji City from coal to wood pellets, the project will use the facilities as a biomass power plant.
In conjunction with Suzukawa EC’s existing boiler designed to fire both coal and biomass, turbine and fuel conveyance equipment, fuel-storage and other new equipment will be installed with an aim to commence dedicated wood-pellet power generation in April 2022.
According to a statement, by using biomass such as wood pellets as fuel, this project will help curb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and provide stable, uninterrupted baseload power, something that has always been a challenge with renewable energy sources. It will also help Japan to achieve its desired energy mix, which includes an increased renewable energy percentage.
