Climate Change

Use of biomass energy

Biomass refers to renewable organic resources derived from organisms, and the energy obtained from biomass is called biomass energy. Biomass absorbs CO₂ as it grows, so even if it is burned, the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere does not increase as a result. Black liquor extracted in the process of making pulp, the raw material for paper made from wood chips, is also classified as biomass energy.

Photo of a black liquor recovery boiler owned by Hokuetsu Corporation, showing facilities at the Niigata Mill and a red-and-white smokestack.

Niigata Mill
Blackliquor recovery boiler

Photo of the exterior of the woody biomass boiler facility at Hokuetsu Corporation's Kishu Mill.

Kishu Mill
Wood biomass boiler

Promoting the use of gas

We use fossil fuels for energy that cannot be covered by biomass energy alone, and among these, we promote the use of gas with low CO₂ emissions. Our Kanto Mill (Ichikawa) first started gas power generation in 1995. Following that, we installed a gas turbine at the Niigata Mill, and converted the all boilers at the Nagaoka Mill to run on gas.

Photo of the gas waste heat boiler at Hokuetsu Corporation's Kanto Mill (Ichikawa).

Kanto Mill(Ichikawa)
Gas heat exhaust boiler