Geothermal Japan

 

TJC / GRC

International Geothermal Development

Geothermal Japan

History and Status of Geothermal Power Development and Production By Seiki Kawazoe  !hermal and "uclear Power #n$ineerin$ Society %!#&P#S'( and Jim )om*s  Geo Hills +ssociates %,eno( "-'

J

apan is one of the world’s most tectoni-cally active countries, with nearly 200 volcanoes and the blessing of tremendous geothermal energy resources. In 2003, 20 geothermal tion at 18 locations power plants nationwide were in (Fig. opera1). Most are located in the country’s Tohoku and Kyushu districts. Total net output from all geothermal power plants is 535.25 megawatts (MW), making Japan the sixth largest producer of geothermal electricity in the world.

History of Geothermal Power  Development in Japan The firs firstt exper experimen imental tal geothe geothermal rmal power generation in Japan took place in 1925 at Beppu, Oita Prefecture, in southern Japan. Though interrupted by World War II, geothermal research and developmentt (R& men (R&D) D) pro projec jects ts pro procee ceeded ded aft after er 1947. The Geological Survey of Japan

started starte d su surve rveys ys and res resear earch ch to sel select ect geo-therma geo-t hermall energ energy y devel developmen opmentt area areas. s. Power production from Matsukawa—the countr cou ntry’s y’s fir first st ful full-s l-scal calee geo geothe therma rmall power plant—commenced in 1966. This was the beginning of the era of  geothermal power development in Japan. Ensuing Ensui ng geoth geother-m er-mal al insta installat llations ions were developed in three distinct generations: First Generation (mid-1960s to mid1970s). During these years, there were many

the preceding generation. They included the Hatchobaru Hatch obaru,, Kakko Kakkonda nda (No. (No.1 1 Unit Unit), ), and Mori Mo ri.. Th Thee wo worl rld d oi oill cr cris ises es of th this is er eraa intensified the demand for alternative energy erg y as tec techno hnolog logica icall pro progre gress ss fro from m explorat plo ration ion to ope operat ration ionss acc accele elerat rated ed geo geo-therma the rmall dev develo elopme pment. nt. The Nat Nation ionwid widee Geothermal Resources Exploration

unkno un known wnss in ge geoth otherm ermal al ex explo plorat ratio ion, n, resource assessment, power facility design and maintenance. maintenan ce. Thus, Japan’s first geothermal power pow er stat stations ions were also full full-scal -scalee demo demonnstrations strat ions.. Foll Followi owing ng the inst installa allation tion of the Matsukawa power plant in 1966, these early geothermal facilities included Otake, Onuma and Onikobe. Onikobe. The elec electric trical al outp output ut of each plant was added gradually as operating and other conditions were better understood.

./

Second Generation (mid-1970s to mid1980s). In thi thiss dec decade ade,, hig high-e h-effi fficie ciency ncy geothermal power stations in the 50-MW class were built based on the experience of 

Japan’s reverence for nature has resulted in setting settin g aside large areas as nation national al parks. Many are rich in geoth geothermal ermal manifestations manifestations,, such as the Goshogake Hot Springs at Mount  Hachimantai (above. Japan’s most promising  geothermal fields for development are located  nearr its nat nea nation ional al par parks ks and and!or !or hot spr spring ings s used for bathing and recreation. "o develp a ne# facility for geothermal geothermal ener energy gy utili$a utili$ation, tion, careful steps must be taken to preserve the scenic beauty of these areas.

G,) %&''")* 

 

International Geothermal Development It can also operate in dry mod modee to pre preven ventt ic-ing ic-in g of surr surroundi ounding ng trees during t he winter.

Third Generation (mid-1980s to present).

government built government greenhouse green housess near the complex, using warm water from fr om th thee po powe werr plant condenser to demonstrate casc ca scad aded ed us usee of 

During Duri ng th thee pa past st 20 years, even small geo-

geothermal energy.

Power Co., Inc. /  Nitte Nit tetsu tsu Kagoshi Kagos hima ma

Project started duri du ring ng th this is de deca cade de (NEDO - see below).

thermal power facilities became bec ame than th anks ks

econo eco nomimi-ca call to

impr im prov oved ed

exploration, exploratio n, success-ful dril dr illi ling ng

effo ef fort rtss

with wi th

soph so phis isti tica cate ted d

tech te ch--

nologies, and accurate resour res ource ce

evalu ev aluati ation on..

Thus,, the geot Thus geotherm hermal al

ther th erma mall

Geothermal

Commenced operations in March 1996. Output: 30 MW. To reduce equi eq uipm pmen entt co cost sts, s, th thee unit has a module turbine and a cool oliing tower tow er des design ign com common mon to Kyu yush shu u El Elec ectr triic Power Co.’s other geothermal power stations (Otake, Hatchobaru and Yamagawa). The Ogiri geothermal power plant was bu buiilt within a national park.

Power Station No. 2

Unit Un it (T (Toh ohok oku u

Elec El ectr tric ic

Powe Po werr

Co., Inc. / Tohoku Hydr Hy drop opow ower er

&

during this period were

Energy Co., Inc.).

smaller (20 to 30 MW)

Com-menced

com omp par areed to thei eirr predecessors. Re-fined

operations in March Mar ch 199 1996. 6. Out Out-put:: 30 MW put MW.. Th Thee unit utilizes a geother-mal rese re serv rvoi oirr deep de eper er than tha n the res reserv ervoir oir tapped by the Kak Ka kko kond ndaa No..1 No Unit Un it.. Al Alll co cont ntro roll valves val ves are mot motorordriven like those at Sumikawa and Yanaizu-

and

mainte mai ntenan nance ce

(O&M) (O& M)

were additional factors of

success

as

the

Yamagawa,, Kakkond Yamagawa Kakkondaa (No. 2 Unit), and Ogiri geo eotther erm mal plan pl ants ts

power comm co mmen ence ced d

commercial operation operations. s. In 1996 1996—thi —thirty rty year yearss sincee the inau sinc inaugura guration tion of the Mat atsu suk kaw awaa facility—electrical outp ou tput ut

from fro m

geo eotther erm mal

Japa Ja pan’ n’ss power

plants plan ts ex-c ex-ceede eeded d 500 MW.

Elec El ectr triic

Geo-

Geothermal

operations

(Kyu (K yusshu

Kakkonda

power po wer uni units ts ins instal talled led

design des ign and imp improv roved ed

Ogiri Ogi ri Pow Power er St Stat ation ion

Nishiyama Nishiy ama,, so no airr co ai comp mpre ress ssor or is necne c-es essa sary ry.. This Th is system also prevents preve nts free freez-ing z-ing of control air tubing in cold weather. The cooling tower is a concentrate concen trated d type, to help diffuse the exhaust plume.

Co., Co .,

Takigami

Ltd. Lt d.). ).

Power

Station

(Kyushu

Electric Power Co., Inc.  /

Idemitsu

Oita

Geothermal Geoth ermal Co., Ltd.) Ltd.)..

Commence Comm enced d

operatio oper ations ns

in No Nove vemm-be berr 1996 1996.. Outp Ou tput ut:: 25 MW MW.. Th This is geotherma geot hermall pow power er plan plantt employs

a

module

turbi tur bine ne lik likee th thee one at Ogir Og iri. i. Th Thee

faci fa cili lity ty is

located in the Kuju-

Yamagawa Power Station (Kyushu Elec-

Japan0s &ost ,ecent Geothermal Developments

tric Power Co., Inc. / Japex Geothermal Kyus Ky ushu hu Co Co., ., Lt Ltd. d.). ). Comm Commenced enced opera opera-tionss in Ma tion Marc rch h 19 1995 95.. Ou Outp tput ut:: 30 MW MW.. While most geothermal power stations in Japan reside in mount mountainou ainouss volca volcanic nic regions at approximately 500 m to 1,000 m

 

abov seaa le leve vel, l, th thee abovee se Yama Ya maga gawa wa fa faci cili lity ty is situat sit uated ed nea nearr the coa coast st on fl flat at la land nd.. Be Beca cause use the reservoir temperature is high, so is the facil facility’ ity’ss turbi turbine ne inlet pressure (10

+igure . 'ocation of Geothermal -o#er -lants in Japan.

Geothermal Power Plant  Major City

kg/cm2).

Sumikawa Geothermal Power Station (Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. /  Mitsubishi Materials Corp.). Commenced men ced ope operat ration ionss in March 1995. Output: 50 MW.. Th MW Thee fi firs rstt st stag agee nozz no zzle le of the st steeam turbine turb ine is equip equipped ped as a cooling device to preven pre ventt tur turbin binee sca scale. le. The sy The syst stem em wa wass de de-signed sig ned for easy O&M O&M.. Sumikawa is very cold area, with snow accumu acc umulat lating ing to mor moree tha han n 4 m du duri ring ng the winter, snowmobiles are essent ess ential ial to the pow power er plant operators.

Yanaizu-Nishiyama Geothermal Power Station (Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc.  / Okuaizu Geothermal Co., Ltd.). Commenced mence d opera operations tions in May 1995. Output: 65 MW. This power statio sta tion n is the lar larges gestt geot ge oth her erm mal un unit it in Japan. The municipal

SEA OF  JAPAN  Sendai

Tokyo Osaka Fukuoka PACIFIC OCEAN 

 

, Mori 1 Sumika#a 0 /numa 5 Matsuka#a 8 ;akkonda ), )) : &enotai

&+,)H 1 +P,I2 3445 .6

 /nikobe 2 3a 3anai$u4*ishiyama 6 Hachi7o7ima 9 Suginoi Hotel  "akigami 1 /take

0 Hatchobaru ), ))   5 "a "akenoyu   8 /giri   : ;irishima ;okusa  3amaga#a

 

International Geothermal Development "able . Japanese geothermal po#er plant operations (March 0, 1991.

Power Plant

7perator

Mori

Donan Geothermal

Sumikawa

"ner#y Co!$%td! and &okkaido "le'tri' Power Co!$ (n'! Mitsu)ishi Materials Cor*! and Tohoku

+uthorized 7utput %&8' 5!

5!

"le'tri' Power Co!$ (n'!

Onuma

Mitsu)ishi Materials Cor*!

+!5

Matsukawa

Tohoku &y &ydro*ower . Geothermal "ner#y Co!$ (n'!

,-!5

akkonda 0

Tohoku &ydro*ower . Geothermal "ner#y Co!$ (n'! and Tohoku Tohoku

5!

"le'tri' Power Co!$ (n'!

akkonda , 1enotai

Oniko)e anau6u7 9ishiyama

-! 2kita Geothermal "ner#y Co!$ %td! and Tohoku To hoku "le'tri' Power  Co!$ (n'! "le'tri' Power De4elo*ment Co! Okuai6u Geothermal Co!$ %td! and Tohoku

,3!3

0,!5 85!

"le'tri' Power Co!$ (n'!

&a'hijojima Su#inoi Taki#ami

Otake

Tokyo "le'tri' Power Co!$ (n'! Su#inoi &otel (demitsu Oita Geothermal Co!$ %td! and yushu "le'tri' Power Co!$ (n'! yushu "le'tri'

-!-! ,5!

0,!5

Power Co!$ (n'! &at'ho)aru 0 &at'ho)aru , Takenoyu O#iri

irishima oku o kusa saii &ot &ote el ama#awa

uju Total 0;

&irose Tradin# Co!$ (n'! 9itetsu a#oshima Geothermal Co!$%td! and yushu "le'tri' Power Co!$ (n'! Daiwado anko Co!$ Co !$%t %td! d! Ja*e: Geothermal yushu Co!$ %td! and yushu "le'tri' Power  Co!$ (n'! ujyu anko &otel

55! 55! !5 -!

!0 -!

,! 5-5!,5

2nnu 2n nual al "ner#y "ner#y Pro Produ du't 'tio ion n is