Demand for wood fuel grows in Japan

Higher crude oil prices have made biomass fuels a more feasible option than ever before, but it is still not easy to find sufficient and stable supplies of wood scrap and other materials with which to make fuel. Three years ago, Takeji Matsuno, who runs a construction firm in Aomori Prefecture, looked into the possibility of making fuel from wood waste. But unlike before, it is now 50% more expensive to have kerosene delivered to homes and offices, making it costly for people to use their stoves. One liter of kerosene currently costs ¥117 (US$1.12) in Aomori prefecture, delivery included, compared to ¥70-84 (US$0.67-0.80) for two kilograms of pellets, the equivalent to a liter of kerosene in terms of calories produced. Demand for wood fuel is growing, and the cooperative has received orders from new clients that hope to use its wood pellets beginning this autumn. In Japan, the total amount of energy generated by living resources such as lumber exceeds that of solar or wind power. However, biomass power generation is less feasible commercially because while raw materials can be collected in many places, they are available in relatively small quantities. (June 30, 2008)