Japan to Guarantee Debt for Two Geothermal Projects (Businessweek)
Japan’s government will guarantee debt to build geothermal power stations to attract investment by private financial institutions, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
State-run Japan Oil, Gas & Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC) will for the first time offer the guarantee for a 5 MW project planned by a unit of Kyushu Electric Power Co. in the southwestern prefecture of Oita, the ministry said in a statement.
JOGMEC will also guarantee debt for a 400 kilowatt station in Fukushima in northeastern Japan, according to the ministry.
The move is to encourage financing from institutions that are unfamiliar with geothermal projects, said Hidefumi Nakashima, a JOGMEC official after a press conference in Tokyo today.
