Hikone Castle in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Photo by Philbert Ono & used under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Shiga Prefecture generating power from wood

Shiga Prefecture (Japan) and Higashiomi City are currently involved in a pilot project testing wood biomass power generation.

The three-year pilot is developing an integrated system that will be capable of collecting, converting and utilizing wood biomass.

Shiga Prefecture aims to be a model prefecture for citizen involvement by promoting the new energy system and then providing approximately 2,000 kW/h of biomass electricity generation by the year 2010. In both Shiga Prefecture and Higashiomi City, sawmill residues, pruned branches and bamboo will be collected and then gasified to generate fuel gas, which will then be converted into electricity.

Biomass power generation will not only reduce fossil fuel consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but will bring multiple benefits to the community including:

• vermin control in the local hills and mountains;
• revitalization of mountain villages; and
• flood control through forestry work.

Biomass energy is energy stored in materials made with the help of living things, and wood heat is probably humanity’s oldest energy source. Other sources of bioenergy include alcohol and biogas. As long as these materials are allowed to grow back as soon as they are used, they are considered a source of renewable energy. For more information on the role renewable energy plays in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, please visit ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection^® Campaign at www.iclei.org/ccp.

Shiga Prefecture is one of 24 local governments in Japan that are currently Members of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. For more information on ICLEI and its activities in Japan, please visit www.iclei.org/japan.

Source: ‘Wood Biomass Power Generation Launched in Shiga’, Japan for Sustainability, 19 February 2007.