OREANDA-NEWS. Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kuniharu Nakamura) will construct a 50 MW wood biomass power plant in Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture (hereinafter, “Sakata Biomass Power Plant”) through Summit Energy Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Daisuke Ohashi), a power producer and supplier wholly owned by Sumitomo Corporation. The plant will become a new source of power supply for Summit Energy’s electric power retail business.

The Sakata Biomass Power Plant will be constructed in the Sakata Rinkai Industrial Park located adjacent to the Port of Sakata and will be operated by Summit Sakata Power Corporation, a company established in December 2012 and wholly owned by Summit Energy. The total project costs are expected to be about 25 billion yen. Construction work will start around June 2016 and the plant is scheduled to be put into commercial operation in May 2018.

This 50 MW biomass power plant will be one of the largest in the Tohoku region. Biomass fuels will be procured through Sumitomo Corporation’s Materials, Supplies & Real Estate Division, which has a strong track record and expertise in handling Japanese wood chips, imported wood pellets, and other renewable fuels. It is planned that fuels will be procured not just from local sources—such as unused wood materials and timber off-cuts from within and around Yamagata Prefecture, an area with abundant forest resources—but also from overseas sources as well.

With the addition of the Sakata Biomass Power Plant to its existing power plants—the Itoigawa Biomass Power Plant (50 MW), which went into commercial operation in January 2005, and the Handa Biomass Power Plant (75 MW), which is slated to start commercial operation by June 2017—Summit Energy will become one of the largest biomass power plant owners and operators in Japan.

In the renewable energy classification, biomass-fired power generation is categorized as base load power generation, which means it is capable of consistently generating electricity to its full potential around the clock regardless of weather conditions. Summit Energy’s biomass power plants will, therefore, be able to meet the power demands of corporate customers that purchase its electricity as well as of the household sector, for which the supply of electricity will be deregulated in April 2016.

The Sumitomo Corporation Group is developing, building and operating renewable power generation facilities across the world and will continue its contributions to environmental business in order to maintain and improve the global environment.