Updated by "Forest Circular Economy" Editorial Board on August 27, 2025, 3:13 PM JST
Editorial Board, Forest Circular Economy
Forestcircularity-editor
We aim to realize "Vision 2050: Japan Shines, Forest Circular Economy" promoted by the Platinum Forest Industry Initiative. We will disseminate ideas and initiatives to promote biomass chemistry, realize woody and lumbery communities, and encourage innovation in the forestry industry in order to fully utilize forest resources to decarbonize the economy, strengthen economic security, and create local communities.
The plan to convert an existing coal-fired power plant at Nihonkaisui's Sanuki Plant (Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture) into a woody biomass power plant has been adopted for the government's "Subsidy for Energy Conservation Investment Promotion and Demand Structure Conversion Support Project. Construction of the "Sanuki Biomass Power Plant" is scheduled to begin in FY2026, with operation scheduled to commence in FY2028.
The power plant will use domestic woody biomass, such as construction waste, bark, and thinned wood harvested for proper forest management, as its main fuel. This conversion is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by the equivalent of about 17% of Sakaide City's total CO2 emissions. Nihonkaisui as a whole is expected to reduce CO2 emissions in FY2030 by 671 TP3T compared to FY2020.
The company, which is involved in salt and environmental businesses, has already operated wood biomass power plants in Ako City in Hyogo Prefecture and Kanda Town in Fukuoka Prefecture since 2015, and has also contributed to the promotion of local forestry and timber industries through the use of nearby timber. By accelerating these efforts, the company expects to become the first domestic salt manufacturer to achieve carbon neutrality by FY2035, making it possible to "manufacture salt without emitting CO2.
This initiative to achieve both a stable supply of domestic salt and carbon neutrality is a sustainable business model that simultaneously promotes the forestry and lumber industries, protects the natural environment, and significantly reduces CO2 emissions through the use of local forest resources, and will serve as a new guideline for future energy-intensive industries.
Sanuki Biomass Power Plant Facility Overview
(1) Location: Nihonkaisui Sanuki Plant, 1793-3, Oyatomi-cho, Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture
(2) Power generation method: Woody biomass power generation
(3) Power generation output: max. 9,400 kW
(4) Combustion method: staircase stoker
(5) Fuel consumption: 140,000 tons/year (fuel: construction waste, bark, thinned wood, overseas timber, etc.)
(6) Investment: Approx. 14 billion yen (including 4 billion yen in subsidies)
