Sumitomo Osaka to sell more in-house power, Japan

Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co plans to lift sales of power generated in-house at a Tochigi Prefecture plant using wood biomass fuel, according to reports in the Nikkei.

The power generation facilities at the Tochigi plant were completed in February 2009 and went into full operation in April of that year. Current output totals 25,000kW.

The group's operating profit is expected to surge 41% to JPY11.5bn in the fiscal year ending March 2013. Sumitomo Osaka Cement does not disclose power-related earnings, but the steady advance of power sales is expected to become a factor that boosts operating profit by JPY1-2bn.

Sumitomo Osaka Cement suspended operations at one of the plant's two kilns this past January as part of restructuring measures, giving it capacity to supply more leftover power. It aims to contribute to the power supply by selling the excess electricity, especially with all the nation's nuclear plants remaining offline.

The current fuel mix is 85% wood chips and 15% coal, with the wood chip content rising 20 percentage points from the initial share.