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Shipping & Shipbuilding News - 28 June 2007
Power company seeks to reduce emissions with biomass fuels
NYK Global Bulk Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of NYK, has signed a long-term contract with Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc. (KEPCO) to transport wood-pellet fuel* from Canada.
Some 60,000 tons of wood pellets will be shipped annually for five years from Prince Rupert in the Canadian province of British Columbia to Maizuru in Japans Kyoto prefecture for delivery to the utility company. NYKs handy bulkers, 20,000- to 30,000 DWT bulk carriers, will be used to fulfill the contract, which starts in 2008.
KEPCOs Maizuru Power Plant is now implementing a project to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, a by-product of power generation, by about 92,000 CO2 tons annually. The combining of biodegradable fuel (biomass), such as wood pellets, with coal is part of this project. NYK Global Bulk Corporation expects seven or eight roundtrips between Japan and Canada each year to transport the 60,000 DWT cargo volume needed for KEPCO to achieve its target.
The multiyear contract is the first of its kind in Japan. Demand for biomass fuels, including bioethanol and wood pellets, has grown steadily in recent years as a countermeasure to environmental problems such as global warming. NYK intends to foster and secure new business in the biomass fuel transportation market, while emphasizing its support for the use of environmentally friendly energy sources.
* Wood-pellet solid fuel is made by compressing and shaping waste wood, such as that from wood manufacturing and waste processing. The wood pellets are shaped into a cylinder that has a radius of 6 to 8 millimeters.
