OMNI Features｜Eurus Energy Starts Partial Operation of "Ashikawa Wind Farm", Japan's Largest Onshore Wind Farm / Sumitomo Eyes Biodiesel Mass Production in Japan for Decarbonization

Eurus Energy Starts Partial Operation of “Ashikawa Wind Farm”, Japan’s Largest Onshore Wind Farm
Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation (Eurus Energy) announced today that Dohoku Wind Farm LLC, a group company of Eurus Energy, has completed construction of the north section (capacity: 68.8 MW) of the "Ashikawa Wind Farm" (capacity: 128.8 MW) in Toyotomi Town, Hokkaido, and its commencement of commercial operation on January 4, 2024. When the south section is completed, the "Ashikawa Wind Farm" will be the largest onshore wind farm in Japan.

The Wind Farm is a part of the "Dohoku Wind Power Generation Project", which will install a total of 107 wind turbines at a total of six wind farms in the northern Hokkaido area.

While northern Hokkaido is one of Japan's most suitable areas for wind power generation due to its favorable wind conditions, the lack of sufficient transmission line capacity to deliver electricity to demand areas presented a challenge to development in the region. Thus, in order to promote the introduction of large-scale wind farms in the area, Eurus Energy, along with partner companies, established the North Hokkaido Wind Energy Transmission Corporation, which began commercial operation of government-subsidized large-scale power grid and storage battery facilities in April 2023.

The "Ashikawa Wind Farm" consists of two subsections (the north and south). 16 Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A. wind turbines with an output of 4.3 MW, one of the largest in Japan, are installed on the north section of the site. 15 of the same units will be installed on the south section, together making the "Ashikawa Wind Farm" the largest onshore wind farm in Japan as the total capacity of the 31 units will be 128.8MW. All electricity generated will be sold to Hokkaido Electric Power Network Inc. When the south section starts operation in the spring of 2025, it is expected to generate electricity equivalent to the power consumption of approximately 94,000 average households and reduce CO2 emissions by 146,000 tons per year[1].

Sumitomo eyes biodiesel mass production in Japan for decarbonization
Trading house Sumitomo Corp. is looking to mass-produce biodiesel in Japan using wood and sugarcane waste, in a bid to give the hard-to-make renewable fuel more of a foothold in the country. The Japanese trading house plans to open a demonstration plant in 2025 on the southern island of Tanegashima with the University of Tokyo and Solariant Capital, a U.S. renewable energy development and investment company. After testing and getting mass production underway, the company plans to gradually increase output starting in fiscal 2027, aiming to eventually reach 1 million tonnes per year.

The facility will use wood from tree thinning and sugarcane bagasse -- a fibrous residue -- from a Tanegashima factory owned by Sumitomo group company Shinko Sugar. The feedstock will be blended with fuel oil. This comes amid a recent push to cut carbon emissions from diesel, used in trucks and buses. Biodiesel fuels currently produced from used cooking oils have a high viscosity that can cause problems for engines and other vehicle parts. The Japanese government recommends fuel blends with only 5% biodiesel, which has led to limited production in the country.

The 1-million-tonne production target is equivalent to 5% of Japan's fiscal 2022 automotive diesel consumption of 20 million tonnes. Based on current prices, that would generate about 40 billion yen ($280 million) in revenue.

Note:
[1] Calculated from the CO2 emission factor (FY2021) of Hokkaido Electric Power Co.,Inc.

Reference: Eurus Energy｜ＮikkeiAisa