Abstract
Woody Biomass power plants have been being established in various regions of Japan since the introduction of the "Feed-in Tariff" system. We conducted an interview survey of five logging entities, which are members of the Hita Council for The Effective Utilization of Woody Resources. This council oversees the supply of woody biomass to a woody power plant, which has operated in the Hita area of Oita Prefecture since November 2013. The plant has received "unused logs," from which electricity can be generated and sold at 32 yen/kW (not including tax). The survey showed that approximately 15% of log production by two forest owners' associations and 20-30% of logs produced by three private logging entities were shipped as materials for biomass power. After the beginning of the plant operations, the following trends were observed: (1) an increase in final cutting, (2) changes in the log bucking method, (3) an increase in the production volume per area in both thinning and final cutting practices, and (4) an increase in direct distribution without an intermediate log auction market. Furthermore, the challenges of cascade utilization of woody biomass and the necessity of restructuring the functions of the log market were pointed out.
