Japan adds new biomass fuels, certificates to FiP, FiT

Japan's ministry of economy, trade and industry (Meti) has decided to add new biomass fuels and sustainability certificates to its feed-in-premium (FiP) and feed-in-tariff (FiT) schemes from the April 2023-March 2024 fiscal year.

Meti added empty fruit brunch, coconut shells, cashew nut shell, chestnut shell, almond shell, pistachio shell, sunflower seed shell, corn straw pellet, bengkuang seed, sugarcane stem and leaf, peanut shell and cashew nut shell liquid as crop residues to its two schemes. Meti considers these residues inedible, and thinks existing standards can ensure their sustainability, including keeping lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions below the limit.

Meti is still examining whether to add straw, rice straw and rice husk to its schemes as they are used to feed livestock and as fertilizers.

Meti approved palm oil (PO), palm kernel shell (PKS) and palm trunk as biomass fuels under the FiP and FiT schemes.

Meti also approved the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil scheme as a new official option for power generators for crops and crop residues. Japan has accepted the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials, Green Gold Label and International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) schemes for PKS and palm trunk, and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil scheme for PO, while reviewing the ISCC scheme for PO, domestic Agricultural Resource Certification system for PKS, and the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil for PO and PKS.

Meti has also mandated biomass power generators to calculate lifecycle GHG emissions starting April. The ministry requires them to obtain certificates to prove GHG emissions until 31 March 2026, except projects using imported biomass and newly registered to FiP or FiT scheme after 2022-23. These projects have to obtain certificates until the start of their commercial operations.

By Nanami Oki