Abstract
With the implementation of the“Feed-in Tariff System for the Renewable Energies”in 2012, the number of power plants fueled with woody biomass is rapidly increasing. As of March 2016, 75power plants fueled with woody biomass derived from thinning are registered under the system, with 34 plants already in operation, including plants registered under the former RPS system. The volume of wood chips derived from thinning used for energy production in 2015 was 2.57 million CUM, a 61% increase from the previous year. For the stable supply of woody biomass from regional forests to these plants without affecting other material uses, detailed analysis on fuel demand/supply is essential. To this end, this study compared the volume of wood chips derived from thinning used for energy production, which was published in the new statistics of the Forestry Agency, with the registered capacity of woody-biomass power plants in operation, as well as the volume of log production, in each prefecture. The results show that the volume of wood chips derived from thinning used for energy production is correlated with the registered electricity generating capacity of power plants in operation, and that the volumes of such energy-use wood chips in ten prefectures are more than approximately 30% of the volume of log production in each prefecture. In order to enable more accurate analysis, further information disclosure on registered power plants including detailed fuel composition is required.
