Chubu Electric Power, Iwate-based renewable development consultant Eneguri, and Aomori-based tree felling and wood chip manufacturer Kudo Ringyo will jointly build and operate the 1.99MW Kawauchimachi Biomass Power Plant in Mutsu City, Aomori Prefecture, the utility announced on May 30, 2025.
According to the statement, Chubu EPCO took a 40% stake, and Eneguri a 10% stake in Clean Wood Energy, a company first established by the wood chip maker to develop the project. Construction work is set to begin in the summer of 2026, with commissioning planned for December 2027. The asset is expected to generate 14.5GWh annually. It will use wood chips, primarily from unused local wood.
The project was certified under the feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme in FY2024. Since 2015, the government has been offering 40 yen per kWh for sub-2MW projects using thinned wood meeting certain conditions.
METI FIT/FIP certification data suggests that Kawauchimachi Biomass Power Plant is Kudo Ringyo’s first power plant project. It is also the first disclosed biomass project in which Eneguri took ownership. Chubu EPCO and its group companies already have stakes in multiple operational assets including the 49MW Yokkaichi Biomass Power Plant and the 75MW Omaezaki Port Biomass Power Plant.
Chubu EPCO, together with partners, is also developing at least four other 1.99MW biomass power plants expected to be fueled using locally produced wood, including one each in Iwate, Gunma, Nagano, and Niigata prefectures.
