Enviva Partners, a global renewable energy company specialising in sustainable wood bioenergy, and Tokyo-based utility Electric Power Development Corporation Limited (J-Power) have signed an MoU for the long-term, large-scale supply of sustainable wood biomass from Enviva’s manufacturing facilities in the US to J- Power’s coal-fired power plants in Japan. Enviva is expected to build new infrastructure to generate and supply up to 5 million metric tonnes of sustainable wood pellets to permanently replace coal in J-current Power’s coal-fired power facilities, dramatically reducing the utility’s greenhouse-gas emissions.
Under the terms of the agreement, the parties will jointly assess the most sustainable and cost-effective ways to realise the coal-to-biomass conversion’s potential, including supply security, port reception, distribution and storage logistics, safety measures, and project economics. The investment will be used to repurpose J-Power’s existing coal-fired power facilities through conversion, potentially resulting in both dedicated and co-fired biomass units. Enviva’s biomass will be certified under the European Union’s (EU) current sustainability requirements, ensuring that forest health, growth, and capacity are maintained and improved over time. The EU’s sustainability standard ensures that biomass is only sourced from regenerated, sustainably managed forests, ensuring that carbon stocks are stable or growing, forest harvesting is legal, and preventing sourcing from nature protection areas, while also considering soil quality and biodiversity.
