Veolia wins two contracts to operate biomass plants in Japan

Veolia, through its subsidiary Veolia Japan, has been awarded two contracts to operate two biomass-fired power plants in northern Japan, in partnership with local environmental services company Takeei.

These two contracts, both of which have been signed for 20 years, represent total revenue of €90 million for Veolia.

The facilities, which are located in the cities of Hirakawa and Hanamaki in the Tohoku region, will produce 100GWh of electricity annually. This is the equivalent consumption of 22,000 households.

The feedstock that will be fed into both plants will be wood sourced from the local forestry industry, helping to slash CO2 emissions by more than 40,000 tonnes.

Operations in Hirakawa will commence this month, with the Hanamaki plant scheduled to start up in December 2016.

Under the contract Veolia will manage the overall operations, including 40 employees that will work permanently at the two plants.

Régis Calmels, senior executive VP Asia for Veolia, explains: 'Japan wants to triple the share of renewable energies in its energy mix by 2030, and that is opening up significant prospects for the company [Veolia], in particular in the area of biomass power plant operation.'

Veolia has already won contracts to operate two of the largest biomass power plants in North America and, recently was awarded the largest one in Ireland.