Kyushu to build 5-MW Kirishima geothermal power plant in Kagoshima, Japan

Rendering of the planned Kirishima Eboshi-dake binary geothermal power plant in Kagoshima, Japan (source: Kyuden Mirai Energy)

Kyushu Electric Power, thru subsidiary Kyuden Mirai Energy, has announced that it will build a 4990-kW geothermal power plant in Kirishima City in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Construction will begin by September this year and the power plant is expected to start commercial operations by the end of the 2026 fiscal year.

The Kirishima Eboshi-dake geothermal power plant will be using binary power plant technology. It will be built north-east of Mount Eboshi in Kirishima City. Two production wells and two reinjection wells (one as backup) will be used for the operations of the facility.

Preparations for the Kirishima geothermal power project had already been initiated back in mid-2022. After more than two years, an announcement on the start of construction is a welcome development for the project.

The future geothermal power plant is expected to have an annual output of 32 million kWh, or equivalent to the power requirements of more than 10,000 average households. Kyuden believes that there is more potential for geothermal energy utilization in the Kagoshima Prefecture.

“I think Kagoshima still has geothermal potential, and I think it is an environment where renewable energy can be expanded, so I hope that this will be a tailwind for that,” said Yuji Hamada, Geothermal Planning Department Manager at Kyuden Mirai Energy.

Source: Nikkei and Yahoo! Japan