Epson says it hopes to have the plant in operation in the 2026 fiscal year (ending March 2027) and is moving to secure the land and buildings, contract construction and file the paperwork for power generation.

Epson notes that it publicly committed to becoming carbon negative and underground resource free1 in Environmental Vision 2050, and says the use of renewable electricity is a key means by which Epson “seeks to reach its goal of decarbonisation and, in December 2023, Epson completed the switch to 100% renewable electricity at all Epson Group sites2 around the world”.

The new power plant is intended to provide Epson with self-generated renewable electricity on a continuous basis and reduce the ratio of electricity the company purchases from external power companies, thereby promoting wider public adoption of renewable electricity.

Epson plans to construct the plant on the site of the former Kiribayashi Clean Centre, which the Minami Shinshu Wide-Area Union shut down in December 2017.

Epson says the electricity generated will be sold to the market under a feed-in premium (FIP) scheme3 and it will convert the electricity that it uses into renewable electricity by leveraging the environmental value created through power generation - and moreover, the power is expected to be supplied to local facilities in the event of a disaster or other emergency.

“The power plant will not depend on fossil fuels. It will be fuelled primarily by unused wood from the Minami Shinshu area, as well as by materials such as tree bark, mushroom culture medium and some waste wooden pallets from Epson. By utilising wood and bark from neglected forests, Epson will also be contributing to forest maintenance,” notes Epson.

“Construction of this power plant will increase the ratio of self-generated power and meet the technical criteria of RE100, which emphasises additionality.

“In the future, Epson aims to create a closed-loop power plant, including by developing technology for the fixation and utilisation of CO2 produced during power generation.

Epson will continue to promote the wide-spread adoption of renewable electricity, reduce its energy consumption, and circulate resources on its way to realising its Environmental Vision 2050,” Epson concluded.

1 Free of non-renewable resources such as oil and metals
2 Excludes some sales sites and leased properties where the amount of electricity consumed cannot be determined
3 Unlike in a feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme, where electricity is purchased at a fixed price, in a FIP scheme renewable electricity producers that sell electricity on a wholesale market, for example, receive a premium on top of the selling price. This helps to promote the adoption of renewable electricity.