On October 15, 2024, Chubu Electric Power, ML Power, and PROSPEC AZ broke ground on the jointly developed 1.99MW Susono Biomass Power Plant in Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The three companies also announced their plans to jointly develop three more 1.99MW biomass power plants by May 2027.
Fifty percent of each of the four projects’ operating companies is owned by Chubu EPCO. ML Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mizuho Lease, owns 40%. The remaining 10% is owned by PROSPEC AZ, which is in charge of the projects’ engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC).
Susono Biomass Power Plant is scheduled to commission in October 2025. Shibukawa Biomass Power Plant in Shibukawa City, Gunma Prefecture, is expected to follow in November 2025; Nagano Biomass Power Plant in Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture in April 2026; and Joetsu Biomass Power Plant in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture in May 2027.
All four power plants are expected to generate approximately 14.5GWh per year and will be monetized using the feed-in-tariff scheme, which pays power plants of up to a certain capacity utilizing woody biomass fixed 24 yen per kWh for 20 years.
They will be primarily fueled using pruned branches from roadside trees in the respective prefecture. “Through these efforts, the three companies will use pruned branches, which were previously discarded or incinerated, thus contributing to the recycling of waste and the realization of a circular economy,” said the companies’ statement.
According to Mega Solar Business, the power plants in Susono and Shibukawa will use Mitsubishi Power boilers and turbines, Nagano Biomass Power Plant will use Valmet boilers and JFE Engineering turbines, and Joetsu Biomass Power Plant will use Takuma boilers and turbines.
