A hot spring lodging facility in Akita Prefecture, Japan, has installed a biomass boiler fuelled by rice husks and buckwheat hulls, cutting kerosene consumption and giving local agricultural waste a new purpose.
The facility expects to process around 450 tonnes of agricultural by-products annually, with projected fuel cost savings of approximately 20% and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Ash from the boiler will be combined with chicken manure and sold as fertiliser, completing a localised circular loop from farm waste to energy to soil amendment.
Source: News On Japan, 8 June 2026
