Autumn 2023 EN

ENGLISH ISSUE
BIOGAS JOURNAL | AUTUMN_2023
Biogas plant of the Nobels Co. Ltd.
agricultural group in Urahoro.
Separation of the fermented
manure and storage of the solids on
the biogas plant in Urahoro.
Carsten Bussacker has been living in
Japan for 16 years. For nine years now, he
has been in charge of the installation and
maintenance of biogas plants.
results on the 600 hectares of the company’s own cultivated
land for fodder maize.
Standing in front of the hall with the steaming digestate,
Yasuhiro Nishio explains another advantage. Before the
digestate is spread on the fields, it is shuttled between
the barns as bedding and, enriched with manure once
again, returns to the biogas plant’s digester. It is only
applied to the fields when there is too much of it. “This
saves us a lot of money on straw as bedding.”
Given the sum of these advantages, the question arises
as to why biogas, with a mere installed capacity of 85
megawatts, plays such a subordinate role in the Japanese
energy mix. There are also no plans to use biomethane
as a replacement for fossil fuels. Still, the highly
developed industrial nation continues to rely on gas,
coal, and petroleum for two-thirds of its energy needs.
Despite all the pleas to conserve energy after Fukushima,
average Japanese use a third more electrical
energy than Europeans. A stroll through the world-famous
Shinjuku district of Tokyo, known for
its oversized neon signs, or simply visiting a
private or public standard toilet with heated
seats, automatic flushing and bottom dryer
highlights the reasons for that.
20 Percent of Renewable
Milestone Achieved with Solar
Energy and Hydropower
After the devastating earthquake and reactor
disaster in Fukushima in 2011, the Japanese
government, in its 5th Energy Supply
Plan from 2015, decided on a share of renewable
energies of 22 to 24 percent in the
electricity supply. Before Fukushima, only
10 percent was intended. The proportion of
one fifth of renewable energy has been achieved. Most
of it comes from solar energy and hydropower. Only a
mere of 2.7 percent comes from biogas. Biogas has a
share of only 1.5 percent of energy from biomass.
As a reaction to international pressure, Japan has improved
its climate targets and among other things, has
submitted a 6th Energy Supply plan. First, the bad
news: Contrary to previous promises, nuclear energy is
once again allocated a one-fifth share in the energy mix.
And the good news is: The share of renewables will increase
to 36 to 38 percent by 2030. Hydrogen will play
an important part in that. And with 3.7 to 4.6 percent
by 2030, biomass is expected to gain importance, serving
as an economic driver in rural regions. Biogas will
benefit from this.
The biogas share of currently 85 megawatts can also be
seen as a positive trend, as it represents a significant
increase compared to seven megawatts in 2012. The
authors of the ECOS Institute study mentioned at the
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