WITH BACKING, BIOMASS CAN HELP MEET ENERGY NEEDS

Japan's total biomass production for electricity, heat utilization and biofuels reached 322 million tons in fiscal 2008, which translates into the equivalent of about 5.11 million kiloliters of crude oil. The recycling rate for biomass is 76 percent and the amount of unused biomass is estimated to be at 76.44 million tons annually, according to the agriculture ministry.

The abundance of waste resources is especially true in the Tohoku region, where dealing with the millions of tons of garbage resulting from the March 11 quake and tsunami is creating new opportunities for biomass power.

Over the summer, the Forestry Agency said it would look into building as many as five new wood-burning plants in Tohoku that would use timber waste left by the March 11 quake and tsunami.

"Initially, wooden pieces of debris will be used for power generation. After it becomes financially viable, wood thinning from forests will be used," Takashi Shinohara, senior vice minister for agriculture, forestry, and fisheries told reporters July 13.

The theory is that the new plants will solve three problems. They'll help get rid of the quake debris, promote biomass energy and help reinvigorate the forestry industry. The Forestry Agency estimates that 25 million tons of debris from housing alone was created by the tsunami, the majority of it wood. However, only around 5 million tons is considered usable for biomass plants, as the remainder is soaked with seawater.

Turning wood products into biomass energy is already happening across Japan, and one of the more unique operations is under way at Harima Chemicals Inc.'s Kakogawa plant in Hyogo Prefecture.

Here, oil derived from imported pine trees is turned into biomass fuel. Biomass energy advocates admit that burning biomass for fuel faces public concerns over how it smells. But the pine oil burned at the Kakogawa plant gives off a slightly sweet odor that is quite pleasant. It is the only plant of its kind in Japan.

The plant produces 4,000 kw, or about 16 million kwh annually. The generated energy is used primarily for the factory and the remaining is sold to an outside supplier. Normally, the plant operates at 50 percent capacity. But this past summer it reached 60 percent to help make up the electricity shortage caused by offline nuclear power plants.

The majority of Japan's biomass electricity production is from industrial waste products, especially from lumber mills and municipal waste. Like Harima, many private firms and public entities are interested in turning wood products into biomass fuel. But generation from wood chip products is still quite small compared with other countries.

Japan currently has 190 generators attached to municipal waste units, plus another 14 generators that burn both coal and biomass products derived from a variety of sources. In addition, there are another 70 or so independent plants.

"It's said that fossil fuel plants are not strong enough to burn multifuel sources. But this is just Japanese politicians being too afraid of new technology," Tomari said.