Japan's geothermal power generation is amazing!? World's 3rd largest amount of resources A town that runs on possibilities August 8 19:42
Due to the situation in Ukraine, the world is in a war for energy.
The impact on Japan, which is poor in oil and natural gas and relies on imports for most of it, will be enormous.
In fact, Japan also has an energy source that boasts the third largest amount of resources in the world.
That's geothermal.
Japan, which has many volcanoes, has the largest number of volcanoes after the United States and Indonesia.
There was this "advanced land" deep in the mountains of Kyushu, surrounded by volcanoes and hot springs.
(Fukuoka Broadcasting Station Reporter Shuntaro Hayakawa)
Notice Bill Gates?
Deep in the mountains of Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, there is a geothermal power generation company supported by an investment fund in which Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos also invest.
We headed to the hot spring resort to find out why it was chosen as an investment destination.
We arrived at “Waita Onsenkyo” in Oguni Town, Kumamoto Prefecture.
It was a high-class ryokan with a wooden structure in one corner and a sense of history.
Mr. Kazuaki Kumagai, the president of the ryokan who welcomed us, is also the owner of a power generation company.
He immediately gave me a tour of the site.
Climbing the steep mountain path that rises behind the inn, you can see the plumes of steam rising.
It was not so big, it was a power plant with a height of about 5 meters.
This ryokan started geothermal power generation in February this year using the steam from the hot spring well.
Electricity generated for 200 households was supplied to an apartment building in Fukuoka City as clean energy.
Japan has a long history of geothermal power generation, but the development site is inevitably close to a hot spring area, and there is concern that the amount of water in the hot spring will decrease due to excavation and extraction of steam. The composition of hot spring associations conflicting has occurred in various places.
However, even so, it is surprising that a hot spring inn will handle geothermal power generation by itself.
When I asked Mr. Kumagai frankly why...
Mr. Kazuaki Kumagai
“Actually, about 30 years ago, the town was divided into supporters and opponents in this area, and the business plan was set aside. Many residents are now concerned about the impact on the hot springs. It was so bad that even the local Bon dance could not be held.In the end, the plan was canceled.After that, a new power generation method that did not affect the hot springs was developed, and a system was created to work on geothermal power generation throughout the region. , and now all the townspeople agree."
Hot spring-friendly new technology
A new power generation method that does not affect hot springs is "binary power generation."
Conventional geothermal power generation requires very high temperature steam, and after power generation is completed, the cooled water is returned to the ground.
At that time, there was concern that the temperature of the underground source would drop.
Binary power generation uses a gas with a boiling point lower than that of water as an intermediary, making it possible to use the steam that has accumulated in hot spring areas as it is.
It is a technology that does not directly affect the underground source.
With the advent of this technology, residents' concerns are said to have been resolved.
In 2011, the Waita Hot Spring Village established a geothermal power generation company, Waitakai.
The company is owned by all residents.
We introduced a system that digitally manages the amount and temperature of hot springs, and monitors the entire area to see if there is any impact on the hot springs.
The system has been opened to power generation companies other than Waitakai, and geothermal power generation is currently being carried out at seven locations in this hot spring area.
Mr. Kazuaki Kumagai
"We can effectively use the steam that was released into the atmosphere as it is. We can also earn income from power generation, and I hope that this area's efforts will become a model."
Founder of Gyomu Super ``out of the ordinary'' geothermal power generation
After researching a hot spring inn, I met a person who is currently attracting attention in the world of geothermal power generation in a hot spring village.
Shoji Numata (68), the founder of the nationwide chain Gyomu Super.
I was surprised by the idea of “breaking common sense” to boldly challenge the development of geothermal power generation.
With Mr. Numata's guidance, I got into the car and continued on the mountain road.
The road is littered with large stones.
Every time I climbed over it, my waist lifted up from the seat and it was a road that made me uneasy.
After a while, an open space appeared, and suddenly a gigantic tower with a height of 40 meters jumped into it.
This is where Mr. Numata sees his second founding, and where he puts his life on the line.
Mr. Shoji Numata:
“Hokkaido, Tohoku, and Kyushu are promising areas for geothermal power generation in Japan, but Kyushu is the most suitable region for geothermal power generation. There is a lot of steam necessary for geothermal heat in relatively shallow strata. The reason why we are working on geothermal power generation is because we believe that we must do it now for the sake of the next generation of children in Japan, who are facing energy problems.”
In 2016, Numata established a new company that handles geothermal power generation.
Preparations are underway for the construction of the first geothermal power plant in the mountains of the Waita hot spring village.
Excavation work is currently underway to extract water vapor from the ground.
It is said that the project cost will reach 10 billion yen.
It is said that 5 billion yen of that is out of his own pocket money.
It is no longer a hobby world.
It is precisely because there is a big business opportunity that they are making serious investments.
So far, they have dug down to 700 meters underground, and one of the wells for power generation has already been completed.
The remaining excavation work was nearing its end.
If all goes well, they will move on to the construction of the power plant.
Although it was a Saturday, experienced drilling engineers were working at a rapid pace, manipulating drilling pipes.
The power generation facility is scheduled to start operation in April 2024.
The plant is expected to generate electricity for 8,000 households and generate approximately 1.4 billion yen in annual income from electricity sales.
Overcome high hurdles with ingenuity
Mr. Numata is focusing on overcoming the conventional hurdles of geothermal power generation.
First and foremost is profitability.
Geothermal power must first be mined to generate sufficient heat and quantity of steam.
According to Mr. Numata, the success rate is about 1 out of 5 to 10 holes.
Moreover, it costs 100 million yen for each mining operation.
In order to mine, a large crane truck must be transported to the site to assemble the tower.
This is because new roads will need to be constructed.
So he went on to develop his own excavator.
To make it yourself...
A self-propelled excavator similar to an excavator, it can move even on narrow rough roads.
No need to assemble the yagura.
The main feature is that excavation work can be started immediately after arriving at the site.
As a result, the process was shortened, and the mining cost was cut in half.
Another hurdle is that the design of the power plant becomes custom-made.
The conventional way to build a geothermal power plant was to first find steam in the ground by mining it, and then design a power plant from scratch to match the amount of steam.
If there is a lot of steam, the power plant should be sized accordingly to maximize the amount of power generated.
Mr. Numata dared to break that common sense.
It usually takes more than two years from the time the steam comes out to the completion of the design.
He thought the time and effort was a waste of money.
For this reason, even if the amount of steam is large, a mechanism was introduced to make the power plant smaller.
If the design is "standardized" at this relatively small power plant, it can be efficiently deployed with the same design anywhere in the country.
Yes, we will standardize the store design and deploy it nationwide.
It's exactly the same idea as the strategy of the supermarket.
Mr. Shoji Numata:
“The hurdles of geothermal power generation can be overcome with ingenuity. Japan has potential for geothermal power generation, but it is not being fully utilized. As energy prices soar, how can we change this reality? I think you should think
Japan's potential
Japan ranks third in the world in terms of geothermal resources.
However, it is pointed out that it is not yet fully utilized.
In terms of the amount of power that can be generated = installed capacity, Japan remains in 8th place.
Conversely, there is still room for growth.
When it comes to renewable energy, photovoltaic power generation is a representative player, but it has a weak side that it cannot generate power at night and is affected by the weather.
In contrast, geothermal power generation is said to have the great advantage of 24-hour, stable power generation.
In fact, it is positioned as a baseload power source similar to nuclear power.
Of course, geothermal power generation also has its weaknesses, such as the small power generation capacity of each geothermal power source, and lack of power as an alternative power source if there are not enough of them.
However, even so, I thought it would be necessary to see the potential of this limited “purely domestic energy”, as I watched steam rising from the train window on the way home.
Fukuoka Broadcasting Station Reporter
Shuntaro Hayakawa After working at the Nagoya Station and the Economic Department, he will be
in charge of reporting on the regional economy and consumer life at
the Fukuoka Station from 2021 .