Epson has announced it is planning the construction of the company’s first biomass power plant in Japan.
Epson hopes to have the plant in operation in the 2026 fiscal year (ending March 2027), and is moving to secure the land and buildings, contract construction and file the paperwork for power generation.
The new power plant is intended to provide Epson with self-generated renewable electricity on a continual basis and reduce the ratio of electricity the company purchases from external power companies, thereby promoting wider public adoption of renewable electricity.
Epson plans to construct the plant on the site of the former Kiribayashi Clean Centre, which the Minami Shinshu Wide-Area Union shut down in December 2017.
The electricity generated will be sold to the market under a feed-in premium (FIP) scheme and Epson will convert the electricity that it uses into renewable electricity by leveraging the environmental value created through power generation.
Moreover, the power is expected to be supplied to local facilities in the event of a disaster or other emergency.
The power plant will be fuelled primarily by unused wood from the Minami Shinshu area, as well as by materials such as tree bark, mushroom culture medium and some waste wooden pallets from Epson.
By utilising wood and bark from neglected forests, Epson said it will also be contributing to forest maintenance.
In the future, Epson said it aims to create a closed-loop power plant, including by developing technology for the fixation and utilisation of CO2 produced during power generation.