Started Commercial Operation of the Appi Geothermal Power Plant
- Joint venture project by three companies following the Wasabizawa Geothermal Power Plant -
March 1, 2024
Appi Geothermal Energy Corporation
Mitsubishi Materials Corporation
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc.
Electric Power Development Co., Ltd.
Appi Geothermal Energy Corporation (Chief Executive Officer: Yuko Kanno, "AGE"), which is a joint venture company formed by Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (Chief Executive Officer: Naoki Ono, "MMC"), Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. (President and Representative Director: Masashi Fujii, "MGC"), and Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (Representative Director President: Hitoshi Kanno, "J-POWER"), started commercial operation of the Appi Geothermal Power Plant (the "Plant") today.
The construction of the Plant had been underway since August 2019 in order to contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions and the stable supply of electricity in Japan. The Plant is located at an altitude of approximately 1,130 meters and operates at an output capacity of 14,900 kW utilizing promising geothermal resources in the Hachimantai region of Iwate Prefecture. This is the first time in 28 years that a geothermal power plant with an output of over 10,000 kW has operated in Iwate Prefecture. All the electricity generated will be supplied to society under the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) system for renewable energy.
The Plant is the second geothermal power plant jointly operated by MMC, MGC, and J-POWER, following the Wasabizawa Geothermal Power Plant (Yuzawa-city, Akita Prefecture).
This project is supported by Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security, applying a debt guarantee project for geothermal resource development funding.
AGE, MMC, MGC, and J-POWER will contribute to the expansion of the use of renewable energy through the stable operation of the Plant.