2024 Volume 2024 Issue 34 Pages 646-670
We are learning more deeply from the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 about the subsequent problems of nuclear dependence and the permanent problems associated with decommissioning. It has been pointed out that power supply systems that mainly rely on variable renewable energy such as solar and wind power among renewable energies are vulnerable in terms of power supply and demand control.
In power supply systems that are dominated by variable natural energy sources such as solar and wind power, the vulnerability of power supply and demand control is a concern. In Japan, nuclear power is considered a baseload power source that is essential for a stable supply of electricity, but it is not suitable as a power source because it is not good at adjusting output.
The purpose of this paper is to position methane gas power generation, which is mainly made from livestock waste, as a useful baseload power source that has the flexible output adjustment that is essential for renewable energy power supply in terms of flow from a long-term perspective, and it is a valuable locally distributed power source in terms of stock, and to explore quantitative expansion measures and their possibilities based on its production capacity and reliability. As a result of this study, it was estimated that the potential power generation capacity of methane gas power generation accounts for 1.8% (at the very least, 0.9%) of hydroelectric power generation based on the number of milking cattle kept in Japan. Based on this potential power generation capacity, if the scope is expanded nationwide based on the business demonstration model of this study, it is important to secure the quantity of food processing residues in addition to livestock waste. It was also found that the expansion of power generation can be more reliably achieved by collaboration between the clusters of dairy and livestock waste sources and industrial waste collection and transport companies.
