No. 64: Small hydraulic generation market grows more active (September 22, 2012)

Business trend:

The small hydraulic generation is defined as the hydraulic generation with a capacity of less than 1,000 kW. It is suitable for generation using a brook or an agricultural irrigation channel. It is a dispersed power system with a relatively stable output. Seabell International is actively expanding business in alliance with Osaka Gas. The company plans to increase sales quantity six times by offering a lease system without front-end payment. Farmers collaborate with Energy Bank Japan, a subsidiary of Osaka Gas, to conclude a contract with a leasing company. They pay the lease fee with revenue from electric power selling, and split the balance.

Nippon Koei has participated in the small hydraulic generation market with its medium-sized generators that have a capacity of 400 kW, though it specializes in large-sized generators with a capacity between 2,000 and 5,000 kW. With the introduction of the system to purchase power generated by renewable energy, power generators can sell power to electric power companies for 20 years. The selling price of power generated by hydraulic generation with a capacity less than 200 kW is set at 35.7 yen per kW, that with a capacity between 200 and 1,000 kW is set at 30.45 yen per kW, and that with a capacity between 1,000 and 30,000 kW is set at 25.2 yen per kW.  

Small Hydro Stream by Seabell

No. 63: Wind power generation business grows brisk (September 15, 2012)

Business trend:



Windmills along the seacoast

Summit Wind Power plans to build another six wind generation facilities in Kashima of Ibaraki Prefecture. The six facilities will start operation with a combined capacity of 18,000 kW in 2016. The investment will be 4-5 billion yen. With the new facilities, the company will increase its generation capacity 50% to 54,000 kW, equivalent to power consumption of about 30,000 households. Summit Wind Power is a group company of Summit Energy wholly owned by Sumitomo Corp.

Summit Wind Power is now operating 10 windmills, each of which has a generation capacity of 2,000 kW, in the Kashima coast industrial area. The company will have a meeting with residents to explain its plan and show a picture of the plan. With the introduction of the special law that asks electric power companies to purchase renewable energy, wind power generation business is growing active. Summit Wind Power will sell generated power to Tokyo Electric Power Company.  

  

 Kashima coastal industrial area in Ibaraki Prefecture

No. 62: Six companies ally to participate in the off-shore wind generation business (September 5, 2012)

Business trend:

Six companies will form an alliance and enter the off-shore wind generation business with a total investment of 120 billion yen. They are Hitachi Zosen, Toshiba, JFE Steel, Sumitomo Electric, Toa Corp., and Toyo Construction. Japan Weather Association will joint the alliance for the survey on air flow rate. They will invest 120 billion yen over a decade to construct an off-shore wind generation plant with a capacity of 300,000 kW. Hitachi Zosen will build braces, Toshiba will construct windmills, and Sumitomo Electric will lay down marine cables.

In the initial stage, they will adopt the embedded off-shore generation system, and later advance to the floating off-shore generation system. With the support from the government, they will build a pilot plant with a capacity of 7,000 kW in several locations to study feasibility and deterioration by salt damage in 2015 for the selection of the construction area. The full-scale operation of the new plant is scheduled for 2020. A wind generator has a total of 20,000 parts as an automobile, promoting wind generation will create employment. The generation cost of an embedded off-shore wind generation is estimated at between 9.4 yen and 23.1 yen, land wind generation between 9.9 yen and 17.3 yen, and large-scale photovoltaic generation between 30.1 yen and 45.8 yen in Japan. 

An alliance of six companies starts to 

spread wind generation in Japan.