Enviva to support J-Power’s conversion from coal to biomass

Enviva will supply wood biomass from its manufacturing facilities in the US Southeast to Electric Power Development Co’s (J-Power) coal-fired power plants in Japan.

Through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Tokyo-based J-Power, Enviva will build new infrastructure to produce and deliver up to 5 million tonnes of sustainable wood pellets to permanently replace coal in J-Power’s existing coal-fired power plants, significantly reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

The MoU provides a framework to advance the role of biomass as a renewable and sustainable energy source and help J-Power meet its ‘Blue Mission’ goal to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

“Climate change is a global challenge requiring a global solution,” said Thomas Meth, co-founder and executive vice-president of sales and marketing at Enviva.

“Enviva has an established track record of delivering a dependable, scalable, and sustainable product, which today delivers substantial and deep decarbonisation of energy to generators and industrials around the world.

“We are delighted that our partnership with J-Power can help this leading utility in Japan reach its climate goals with reliable, baseload energy that complements the intermittency of wind and solar.”

In April, Japan – the world’s third-largest economy – nearly double its 2030 target to cut carbon emissions by 40%, up from 26% in 2013, joining other countries in shifting from coal and other fossil fuels to accelerate the fight against climate change.

To further align with the Japanese Government’s decarbonisation policy, J-Power, which has a total of 8.4 GW of coal-fired power capacity, recently announced various plans, including the phase-out of aged thermal power plants and the co-firing of biomass or ammonia.

Shinsuke Suzuki, executive officer, director of thermal energy and value creation department at J-Power, commented: “We are confident that our partnership with Enviva, which has a track record of supplying biomass sustainably and reliably, will firmly support J-Power’s efforts in realising carbon neutrality.

“By combining J-Power’s highly efficient technology to utilise solid fuel and Enviva’s global supply capability, we are meeting the social expectations of achieving carbon-neutrality coupled with a stable energy supply.”