Monthly Report

ORIX commissions repowered 1.1MW geothermal plant powering its Suginoi Hotel

September 5, 2024
Suginoi Geothermal Power Plant
Suginoi Power Plant is Japan’s largest private use geothermal power plant. (Image: ORIX Real Estate)

Repowering of Suginoi Geothermal Power Plant in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, was finished and the power plant resumed operations on September 1, 2024, ORIX Real Estate and ORIX Hotel Management announced at the end of last month. The generated power is self-consumed on site at the latter’s 554-room Suginoi Hotel.

The repowered power plant has a nameplate capacity of 1.1MW, can generate approximately 6,224MWh per year, and, in addition to supplying renewable power covering approximately 30% of the hotel’s total consumption during regular operations, it also improves resilience by being able to provide power during outages.

Suginoi Power Plant was first commissioned in 1980 when it became Japan’s first geothermal power plant used for self-consumption at a hotel. The Japan’s largest private use geothermal power plant stopped operations in January 2022 due to aging facilities and was repowered after that. JFE Engineering was in charge of the repowering project’s engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC).

In addition to repowering Suginoi Power Plant, ORIX also commissioned the 6.5MW Minamikayabe Geothermal Power Plant in Hakodate City, Hokkaido, this May and has multiple other geothermal projects underway. That said, while Japan’s estimated geothermal potential of 23GW is the third highest in the world after the US and Indonesia, installed capacity remains low due to, among other things, potential effects on hot springs.

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