Japan's 54.5MW Yonago biomass-fired power generation plant in the Tottori prefecture was shut on 17 May after a fire broke out at one of its four silos.
The fire was extinguished about three hours after it was detected. There were no casualties, and no impact on the surrounding area. The operator Yonago Biomass Hatsuden Godo Kaisha is still investigating the cause of the fire, but aims to resume operations within a month.
The operator is a joint venture between Japanese utility Chubu Electric Power, real estate firms Mitsubishi HC Capital and Tokyu Land, renewable power developer New Energy Development, and recycling and bio-material company Sanko. The Yonago biomass power plant started commercial operations on 2 April 2022.
Yonago consumes 180,000 t/yr of wood pellets, imported mainly from Vietnam and the US, and 40,000 t/yr of palm kernel shells, delivered mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia.
Japanese gas utility Osaka Gas' 75MW Sodegaura biomass power plant in the eastern Chiba prefecture managed to extinguish its fire on 1 May, after the fire hit two of four silos on 1 January and halted the plant's trial runs. Osaka Gas is still uncertain about the cause of the fire, but suspects that the fermentation of biomass fuels might have caused the incident. It is unclear when Osaka Gas will begin commercial operations at the plant. The company originally planned to launch the plant by the end of February.
