In Japan, Toshiba Corporation has announced that its subsidiary Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS), will build a new biomass power plant through SIGMA POWER Ariake Corporation (SPAC), its consolidated subsidiary. SPAC owns and operates the Mikawa Power Plant in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, and will construct and operate the new biomass plant on an adjacent site.
According to a statement, the new project will “reinforce Toshiba Group’s capabilities” in renewable energy generation. The company aims to build its integrated aggregator service business and to provide stability in the energy system by optimizing multiple energy sources, such as renewable energy and storage batteries, with the utilization of control technology of a Virtual Power Plant.
According to Toshiba, Virtual power plants contribute to optimization of the supply-demand balance in the power network by effectively controlling and operating multiple energy generation and storage facilities, such as solar power generation, storage batteries and hydrogen facilities scattered around a region, so as to make them function as a single power plant.
The new plant will be built in Omuta City, Fukuoka Prefecture, on a site adjacent to the 50 MWe Mikawa Power Plant. Construction of the estimated JPY 20 billion (≈ US$182.4 million) is expected to begin in Autumn 2019 and anticipated to start operations in Spring 2022.
