Japan's 1st osmotic power plant begins operating in Fukuoka

The Fukuoka District Waterworks Agency, the world's second operator to use the technology following a Danish firm that began doing so in 2023, describes it as "a next-generation renewable energy source that is not affected by weather or time of day and emits no carbon dioxide."

In the process, also called salinity gradient power, the electricity is produced by the osmotic process when concentrated seawater created by extracting fresh water is separated by a permeable membrane from treated water from a sewage treatment facility. The membrane does not allow impurities other than water to pass.

A turbine in the plant is rotated via pressure created by the movement of water from the fresh to the saltwater reservoir, with a generator producing electricity from the turbine's movement.

The agency expects the power generation plant, which began operations on Aug. 5 in Fukuoka, to produce 880,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. The power will be used in a desalination facility that provides fresh water to the city and neighboring areas.

"I feel overwhelmed that we have been able to put this into practical use. I hope it spreads not just in Japan, but across the world," said Akihiko Tanioka, an expert in osmotic power and professor emeritus at the Institute of Science Tokyo.

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