Kansai EPCO-led consortium to build 7.1 MW biomass plant in Tochigi

A consortium led by Kansai Electric Power (Kansai EPCO) plans to develop a 7.1MW woody biomass power plant in Tochigi Prefecture, with the environmental attributes of the project to be sold to Tokyo Metro through a virtual power purchase agreement (PPA).
The developers said the facility will be constructed on a 20,000 square metre site in Sano City and owned by a dedicated special purpose company, Sano Biomass Hatsuden LLC.
The plant is scheduled to enter commercial operation in September 2028 and is expected to produce around 57GWh of electricity each year.
Fuel will be supplied from locally sourced wood from the wider Kanto region.
Under the virtual PPA, Tokyo Metro will purchase approximately 51GWh per year of non-fossil certificates (NFCs) linked to the plant’s output for a period of around 19 years.
The certificates are expected to offset about 6.5% of the railway operator’s carbon dioxide emissions.
Kansai EPCO will hold a 49% stake in the project company.
The remaining shares will be owned by beABLE (19.9%), Biomass Fuel (18%) and NAS Construction (13.1%).
The arrangement marks the first time the four companies have entered into a virtual PPA backed by a biomass power project.
For Kansai EPCO, the Sano project represents its first small-scale biomass development.
The utility already owns and operates the 75MW Kanda Biomass Power Plant in Fukuoka Prefecture, commissioned in 2022, and holds minority stakes in larger biomass facilities at Fukushima Iwaki and Aioi, which began operations in 2022 and 2023 respectively.