Press ReleasesNippon Paper Industries to Introduce Japan's First Biomass Power Generation Project Utilizing 100% Unused Woody Materials at Yatsushiro Mill (Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture)- Making Maximum Use of Abundant Domestic Forest Resources in the Kyushu Region
as a Comprehensive Biomass Company -

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. (President; Yoshio Haga) has decided to implement a biomass power generation project using 100% unused woody materials, making it the first project of its kind in Japan. New wood biomass power generation facilities will be constructed at the Yatsushiro Mill (Yatsushiro, Kumamoto) and launched as a new energy business from spring 2015.

The wood biomass power generation facilities to be newly constructed at the Yatsushiro Mill will exclusively utilize unused woody materials such as timber from forest thinning in the Kyushu region for fuel. By leveraging the cargo collection networks of Nippon Paper Group subsidiaries Nanei Co., Ltd. (President; Tatsuro Hamada, Head Office; Yatsushiro, Kumakoto) and Nippon Paper Lumber Co., Ltd. (President; Masahiro Iwabuchi, Head Office; Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), Nippon Paper Industries will be able to utilize the feed-in tariff (FIT) system for renewable energy in an advantageous way.

In addition, the power generation project will be able to make a significant contribution to expanding the use of domestic forest materials to achieve the goal of 50% woody material self-sufficiency presented in the Forest and Forestry Industries Revitalization Plan which serves as the road map for promptly revitalizing Japan's forests and forestry industries.

To achieve sustainable growth into the future, Nippon Paper Industries is working to transform its business structure as a comprehensive biomass company by pursuing the development of businesses other than paper manufacturing. This biomass power generation project using 100% unused woody materials will leverage Nippon Paper Industries strengths, among them long-developed techniques for operating power generation facilities, expertise in forest operations such as the management of company-owned forests, and technologies for producing woodchip of consistent quality.