Showa Shell to Build 49-Megawatt Biomass Plant in Japan

By Chisaki Watanabe & Yuji Okada – Aug 7, 2013 Showa Shell (5002) Sekiyu K.K., a Japanese refiner, will build a 49-megawatt biomass power plant south of Tokyo in Kanagawa prefecture as it expands it power generation business. The plant, the first biomass project for the company, will be built on the site of the company’s former refinery and will begin operating in December 2015, Tokyo-based Showa Shell said in a statement today. The company will invest about 16 billion yen ($164 million), Minoru Yagyuda, general manager of Showa Shell’s power business division, said today in a briefing. Woody biomass, mainly from North America , and palm kernel shells from Indonesia and Malaysia will be used to power the plant. The location is convenient for ships to deliver fuel and is close to an area of major power use, according to the statement. Kanagawa is part of greater Tokyo in the southern Kanto region of Japan. Showa Shell wholly owns Solar Frontier K.K., a maker of solar panels. To contact the reporters on this story: Chisaki Watanabe in Tokyo at cwatanabe5@bloomberg.net ; Yuji Okada in Tokyo at yokada6@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net Taylor Scott International