TOKYO – From the lush primeval landscapes of Hokkaido to the breathtaking mountains of the Tohoku region, industry officials are calling for relaxed geothermal power restrictions in national and quasi-national parks amid a heated debate over the pros and cons.
TOKYO – From the lush primeval landscapes of Hokkaido to the breathtaking mountains of the Tohoku region, industry officials are calling for relaxed geothermal power restrictions in national and quasi-national parks amid a heated debate over the pros and cons.
On one hand, there’s the environmental damage to ecosystems and the depletion of hot spring reservoirs to consider. On the other, the government’s argument that geothermal power is an effective solution to global warming.
What’s the best way to move forward with geothermal power with an eye to environmental conservation? The Environment Ministry is aiming to work out a set of guidelines by July.
An Environment Ministry study commission held a conference on April 23 to newly establish guidelines for geothermal power plants at national and quasi-national parks. But disputes flared up over the use of directional drilling from land adjacent to strictly-regulated special protection zones and Class 1 special zones to dig production wells.
“Naturally, special protection zones and Class 1 special zones must be preserved with utmost integrity,” Nature Conservation Society of Japan (NACS-J) project leader Chihiro Tsujimura said. “Relaxing laws to anything less than that is unforgivable.”
Sachio Ehara, Kyushu University professor emeritus and representative of Institute for Geothermal Information, responded that directional drilling “has been conducted to this day, with no cases of impact on the environment.”
Special protection zones make up no more than 1 percent of Japan’s total land area, designating wilderness with exceptional landscapes where not a single leaf is allowed to be removed. Special zones are divided into three classifications from I to III, and the construction of structures are generally banned in Class I zones.
Tasked with handling the nation’s energy mix, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry announced plans to raise the proportion of geothermal power generation from 0.3 percent to around 1 percent by 2030 during a conference with experts on March 10.
At the study commission’s first meeting 10 days later, industry representatives of the Japan Geothermal Association (JGA) called for relaxed laws on directional drilling and maximum height restrictions for power plants in natural parks.
Typical geothermal power generation involves the extraction of water heated by magma. The heated water is then pumped up production wells and used to boil liquids with low boiling points like an ammonia-water mixture or generate steam to spin turbines and generate electricity.
Heated water is drawn from geothermal reservoirs 1,500 meters to 3,000 meters underground, sitting just below impermeable strata. But drawing water reduces reservoir pressure which hampers extraction, so water that passes through geothermal power plants is pumped back underground through reinjection wells.
Large 30,000-kilowatt-class geothermal power plants require highly pressurized water heated to at least 200 C. The higher the temperature, the lower the generation cost.
“Hot water at Class 1 special zones have exceptionally high temperatures,” JGA steering committee chairman Masaho Adachi said at the commission’s first meeting, “presenting a viable opportunity for electricity generation of 40,000 kilowatts.”
Adachi was making his case for eased restrictions as he read from an outline by Marubeni Corp., which has been pushing for development in the northern area of Daisetsuzan National Park in Kamikawa, Hokkaido.
But geothermal power hasn’t won everyone over – particularly regarding plans to build a plant in the southern Tomuraushi district of Daisetsuzan National Park in Shintoku, Hokkaido.
Together with the NACS-J, six local environment conservation groups submitted a petition protesting the plans to Electric Power Development Co., the government and the city government last year in October. Forestry work is permitted on Class III special zone land around the planned facility, but the fate of wilderness near old-growth forests became a problematic issue.
Firms were also blocked from surveying Bandai-Asahi National Park, nestled among the mountains of the Azuma and Adatara regions, after failing to win over local hot springs businesses.
“There’s no way of knowing if there’d really be impact on hot spring reservoirs and the quality of the water,” Takayu Hot-Spring Resort Representative Director Junichi Endo said, reflecting how efforts designed to flow smoothly have gone up in steam.
