Nippon Paper to expand power business

Plans building large power plant in Miyagi Prefecture.

Nippon Paper Industries Company, Japan’s second-biggest paper producer, encouraged by government moves to deregulate the electricity industry. It could also sell some of its power to customers.

The company is also studying whether to add a US$308 million plant with output capacity of about 110 megawatt hours and fueled by coal and wood at the site of its Ishinomaki paper factory. The plan is among many projects under consideration to produce power fueled by biomass, solar and wind.

In May 2012, Nippon Paper obtained a license to be a power producer and supplier allowed to sell power to large-lot users. It established an energy business department in July.

It has biomass boiler systems that use waste liquid from wood chips during the paper-producing process at 12 plants. With biomass, coal and other types of boilers combined, the group has about 1.7 gigawatts of generating capacity.

“The energy business presents an opportunity to grow,” said Haruhi Nomura, general manager in charge of energy at Nippon Paper. “Our current focus is on creating more power to sell to customers.”