ESTIMATION OF FOREST BIOMASS POTENTIAL FOR SELF-SUFFICIENT RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEM - CASE STUDY OF SIMOKAWA TOWN, JAPAN -

Abstract

 Biomass energy utilization for reducing CO₂ emission from fossil fuels has increasingly become important for the establishment of a sustainable society. Shimokawa, a town in Hokkaido, north Japan, has succeeded in reducing CO₂ emissions and saving on fuel costs through an initiative to utilize its abundant forest biomass. Sustainable biomass utilization can be achieved as long as the harvest does not exceed reproduction rate. In order to clarify the potential for a self-sufficient renewable energy system, this study estimated the utilizable amount of forest biomass in Shimokawa, calculated the utilizable energy amount obtained from forest biomass, and compared it with Shimokawa's heating energy demand. As a result, it was found that the theoretically utilizable amount of energy, calculated based on the annual growth of forest biomass, was able to cover 80-131% of heating energy demands.