Scheduled to start operation in April 2024 (completion image)
MUFG Bank, Chugoku Bank, Kasaoka Credit Union (Kasaoka City, Okayama Prefecture) and others will co-finance 3.5 billion yen for the construction of a biogas power plant that will use manure from cattle raised in the reclaimed land of Kasaoka Bay. There are a total of about 10,000 beef and dairy cows in the area, and the task was to dispose of a large amount of manure. Construction of the plant began in April, with the aim to start operations in April 2024.
For the power plant project, seven livestock farmers in Kasaoka City and Sanwa Denki Civil Engineering Works (Osaka City), an electric facility construction company, collaborated to construct a facility with an area of about 10,000 square meters on reclaimed land. The total investment will be more than 4.5 billion yen, and the gas produced by fermenting cow dung provided by farmers will be used to generate electricity. With a power generation capacity of 1,200 kilowatts, it is said to be one of the largest power generation facilities in Japan, excluding Hokkaido, that uses cow dung as fuel.
The generated electricity will be sold to Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc., and annual sales of about 400 million yen are expected. Fermented manure is returned to farmland as compost or concentrated liquid fertilizer, leading to the circulation of local resources.
