Biogas & e-methane ・ BLUE NOVA Hydrogen Journal Editorial Team ・

Takasaki starts biogas power and recycling system handling up to 4.9 tons per day

A system that began with school lunch leftovers has expanded to commercial waste and now processes up to 4.9 tons per day in Takasaki.

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Takasaki starts biogas power and recycling system handling up to 4.9 tons per day
写真はイメージ / 写真: Thzorro77 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons ライセンス

A resource recycling system that accepts up to 4.9 tons of food waste per day and uses it for biogas power generation has started operating in Takasaki. In addition to the school lunch leftovers it has accepted so far, the system is distinctive in that it expands its scope to commercial waste from the local area.

The system breaks down organic waste such as food residue through the action of microorganisms, extracts biogas consisting mainly of methane, and uses it to generate electricity. The process also produces digestate, which is often used as fertilizer.

School lunch leftovers have the advantage that the source can be identified and the quantity easily tracked, compared with household food scraps. Commercial waste, however, comes from food factories and restaurants, so the volume and characteristics differ by source. To accept more types of waste, pretreatment and intake management must be put in place.

Unlike solar and wind power, biogas power generation is less affected by the weather and has the strength of enabling waste treatment and power generation at the same time. It has been introduced in various regions as a way to use waste biomass.

The standard structure of the project's revenue is based on electricity sales together with processing fees for accepting waste. Many facilities combine income from using the heat generated during power production, selling gas, and environmental value certificates.

The feed-in tariff (FIT) is a system in which electricity generated from renewable sources is sold to utilities at a set price for a fixed period. Biogas power generation is eligible, and it provides a stable sales income, forming a foundation for the business plan.

Attention is also focused on the expansion of intake at a facility involving a company affiliated with NTT East. The move by a related company of a telecom provider to enter food residue processing and renewable energy generation signals the emergence of new players in regional resource recycling.

Going forward, attention will focus on trends in the volume of waste accepted, electricity output, and how widely local businesses use the system. Whether the effects of expansion can be confirmed in numbers will be a basis for judgment when considering rollout to other regions.

BLUE NOVA Hydrogen Journal view

This case is significant because it started with school lunch waste, a familiar form of waste, and expanded intake to commercial waste. Biogas power is a means of recovering food residue as energy without incineration, offering an alternative to disposal that relies on burning. Recycling organic waste generated locally within the same area can also be seen as a form of local production for local consumption of renewable energy. If actual figures for waste intake and power output are made public, it will become easier to compare the scale and revenue structure with other facilities.

Source: DXマガジン
This article was written by the editors based on the cited report and translated from Japanese. AI is used to assist in writing and translation.

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