Japan Expands Geothermal Power Generation - Samsung C&T Aims for Power Self-Sufficiency by 2050

Samsung C&T is accelerating its geothermal power generation business in Japan's Tohoku region. Abijio (Iwate Prefecture, Hachimantai City), a joint venture of three companies including Samsung C&T, started operating the Abijio Geothermal Power Plant (same) in March. Samsung C&T is promoting geothermal power generation projects that provide stable power supply regardless of weather and seasons, leveraging its underground exploration capabilities accumulated since the mining era. The company aims to generate renewable energy equivalent to Samsung C&T's own power consumption by 2050.

The Abijio Geothermal Power Plant is located about a 1-hour and 30-minute drive northwest of Morioka Station. Abijio, established in 2015 by Samsung C&T, Samsung Gas Chemical, and J-Power, began construction in 2019. This is the fourth geothermal power plant that Samsung C&T has participated in. The power generation capacity is 14,900 kW, equivalent to 25,800 average households. It consists of four production wells that draw up steam and hot water, and three reinjection wells that return the hot water separated from the steam and excess discharge water underground. It generates electricity using the single-flash method, where only steam is extracted from a mixture of steam and hot water drawn from underground to rotate a turbine.

The geothermal reservoir in the Abijio area is the first among the geothermal power plants Samsung C&T is involved in to be a steam-dominant type where only steam erupts. While it allows for efficient steam extraction, it also carries rock powder along with the steam, causing contamination inside the turbine. Therefore, the Abijio Geothermal Power Plant has designed a system that introduces hot water before steam separation and drops the rock powder into the hot water. Yukihito Sugano, President of Abijio, stated, "We will check the effectiveness by opening the turbine during future regular inspections."

Samsung C&T's geothermal power generation business started with the operation of the Onuma Geothermal Power Plant (Akita Prefecture, Kakunodate City) in 1974, utilizing underground exploration know-how acquired from its roots in mining development. Yoshiyuki Yamagishi, Head of the Renewable Energy Business Division at Samsung C&T, emphasized, "We possess the technical capabilities to comprehensively respond from surface surveys to operation and maintenance." Samsung C&T aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2020 through its pursuit of renewable energy projects. They plan to develop one geothermal power plant every three years in the future.