TOKYO -- Japanese trading houses and electricity retailers are increasing their imports of wood chips and palm shells, with demand expected to surge amid a rush of construction of biomass power plants.
The government is revising its fixed-price power purchase scheme so that the price for biomass-generated power falls to 21 yen (19 cents) from 24 yen per kilowatt-hour, effective October. There is a rush to get plants approved before the new rate kicks in. When those facilities come online around 2020, demand for biomass fuel is expected to soar.
