A new 112 MW biomass power facility has officially begun operations in Tahara City, Aichi Prefecture in Japan. The project, known as the Tahara Biomass Power Plant, was developed through a partnership led by JFE Engineering, a subsidiary of JFE Holdings.

According to the statement, the power plant, owned by the special purpose company- Tahara Biomass Power, is expected to generate about 770GWh annually using wood chips as fuel. METI data shows it was certified under the feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme in FY2016, when 2MW and larger general woody biomass projects were offered 20-year, 24 yen per kWh contracts.

JFE Engineering, which also handled engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC), and Chubu EPCO each own 40% of the project. Toho Gas and Tokyo Century each own 10% stakes. Project finance was arranged by Mizuho Bank and Development Bank of Japan.

Construction began in June 2022 and finished on schedule, as announced when the final investment decision for the project was made in October 2021.

Each of the partners also hold stakes in other biomass power plants but Tahara is the largest in their portfolios. Most recently, Chubu EPCO and several other companies commissioned the 52.7MW Fukuyama in Hiroshima Prefecture,which is operated under a virtual PPA structured by its retail arm.