Japan: Geothermal Energy from Injected Surface Water

Successful demonstration of the world's first New Geothermal Power System carried out in Kokonoe, Oita Prefecture (Kyoto University)

Japan New Energy water power plant (Kokonoe Town, Kusu District, Oita Prefecture)

A team of researchers, including Associate Professor Takehiko Yokomine from the Kyoto University Graduate School of Engineering and the Japan New Energy Corporation (J-NEC), were recently successful in carrying out a demonstration of the J-NEC Method New Geothermal Power System, which is the first technology of its kind in the world.

The J-NEC Method New Geothermal Power System was conceived as a method for fundamentally resolving the various obstacles that have plagued geothermal power generation in the past. It represents a new technology born from the concept of "generating electricity by absorbing geothermal heat without using hot spring water".

The closed cycle system, which injects and circulates water from above ground rather than using hot spring water, solves the problems of scale buildup and the installation of a reinjection well, which have plagued previous methods of generating geothermal energy.

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