| Title | 2010 Country Update for Japan |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hiroki Sugino, Toshihiro Akeno |
| Year | 2010 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | Japan, geothermal power generation, direct use, geothermal heat pump, update data, current status |
| Abstract | This report describes the update data of geothermal power generation and direct use in Japan. Japan is one of the most tectonically active countries in the world, with nearly 200 volcanoes and the blessing of tremendous geothermal energy resources. In 2009, twenty geothermal power plants were in operation at 17 locations nationwide. Most are located in the Tohoku and Kyushu districts. Total net output from all geothermal power plants reached 535.26 MWe in 2006. The total installed geothermal power capacity is 0.2% of total power generation facilities in Japan in March 2009. The electricity produced by geothermal energy was 3,063.5 GWh in FY 2007 (April 2007 - March 2008), which was 0.3% of the annual electricity production during the corresponding period in Japan. In these years, there haven’t been large developments of geothermal power plants in Japan. However, a 2 MWe power unit was established at the Hatchobaru geothermal power station in February 2004, and started its operation in April 2006. And a 220 kW domestic binary geothermal power unit started its operation at the Kirishima Kokusai Hotel in August 2006. The installed capacity of direct use facilities is approximately 2,086 MWt and the annual energy use is approximately 25,630 TJ in FY 2006 (April 2006 - March 2007). The average utilization factor of the facilitates calculated from these figures is about 39% including bathing. Compared to the report at the WGC2005, the capacity of direct use facilities and the annual energy utilization except for bathing has not changed significantly. |