Epson plans construction of Biomass Power Plant

Conceptual drawing of the Minami-Shinshu Biomass power plant

Epson has announced that it is planning the construction of the company's first biomass power plant in Japan. Epson hopes to have the plant in operation in the 2026 fiscal year (ending March 2027) and is moving to secure the land and buildings, contract construction and file the paperwork for power generation.

Epson publicly committed to becoming carbon negative and underground resource free1 in Environmental Vision 2050. The use of renewable electricity is a key means by which Epson seeks to reach its goal of decarbonisation and, in December 2023, Epson completed the switch to 100% renewable electricity at all Epson Group sites2 around the world.

The new power plant is intended to provide Epson with self-generated renewable electricity on a continuous basis and reduce the ratio of electricity the company purchases from external power companies, thereby promoting wider public adoption of renewable electricity. Epson plans to construct the plant on the site of the former Kiribayashi Clean Centre, which the Minami Shinshu Wide-Area Union shut down in December 2017.

The electricity generated will be sold to the market under a feed-in premium (FIP) scheme3 and Epson will convert the electricity that it uses into renewable electricity by leveraging the environmental value created through power generation. Moreover, the power is expected to be supplied to local facilities in the event of a disaster or other emergency.

The power plant will not depend on fossil fuels. It will be fuelled primarily by unused wood from the Minami Shinshu area, as well as by materials such as tree bark, mushroom culture medium and some waste wooden pallets from Epson. By utilising wood and bark from neglected forests, Epson will also be contributing to forest maintenance.

Construction of this power plant will increase the ratio of self-generated power and meet the technical criteria of RE100, which emphasises additionality.  In the future, Epson aims to create a closed-loop power plant, including by developing technology for the fixation and utilisation of CO2 produced during power generation.

Epson will continue to promote the wide-spread adoption of renewable electricity, reduce its energy consumption, and circulate resources on its way to realising its Environmental Vision 2050.
 

Notes

1 Free of non-renewable resources such as oil and metals
2 Excludes some sales sites and leased properties where the amount of electricity consumed cannot be determined
3 Unlike in a feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme, where electricity is purchased at a fixed price, in a FIP scheme renewable electricity producers that sell electricity on a wholesale market, for example, receive a premium on top of the selling price. This helps to promote the adoption of renewable electricity.

Picture credit
Conceptual drawing of the Minami-Shinshu Biomass power plant

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Ends

About Epson, Epson Australia and Epson New Zealand
Epson is a global technology leader whose philosophy of efficient, compact and precise innovation enriches lives and helps create a better world. The company is focused on solving societal issues through innovations in home and office printing, commercial and industrial printing, manufacturing, visual and lifestyle. Epson's goal is to become carbon negative and eliminate use of exhaustible underground resources such as oil and metal by 2050. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the worldwide Epson Group generates annual sales of more than JPY 1 trillion.
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Epson Australia offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the commercial, industrial, consumer, business, photography and graphic arts markets, and is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) solutions for the retail market. Epson is the market leader in Australia and worldwide in sales of projectors for the home, office and education. Established in 1983 Epson Australia and now in its 40th year of operation, its headquartered in Macquarie Park, NSW and is a subsidiary of the Epson Group headquartered in Japan.
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Epson New Zealand offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the commercial, industrial, consumer, business, photography and graphic arts markets, and is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) solutions for the retail market. Epson is a market leader in New Zealand, Australia and worldwide in sales of projectors for the home, office and education. Epson New Zealand is headquartered in Auckland and is a branch of Epson Australia Pty Limited, a subsidiary of the Epson Group headquartered in Japan.
www.epson.co.nz