Japan:

New Geothermal Plant to Provide 25% of Islands Power (The Japan Times)

Plans are afoot to build a 500-kw geothermal power plant on Okushiri Island off southwest Hokkaido in northern Japan, that could start operations as early as fiscal 2016, sources in the central and local governments said.

If the project is realized, it would be the first geothermal plant on a remote Japanese island to capitalize on the feed-in tariff system for renewable energy introduced last July, according to the Natural Resources and Energy Agency.

The power station’s output would cover up to 25 percent of Okushiri’s consumption of power, which is currently generated by burning fuel oil. All of the electricity would all be purchased by Hokkaido Electric Power Co. at a fixed rate under the feed-in tariff program.

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