According to an announcement on April 2, 2008, by the Sony Corporation, it has reached an agreement with Akita Prefecture, which includes an annual contribution of six million yen (U.S.$57,000), to help secure a stable fuel supply for green power generation by arranging the transport of wood trimmings and waste timber from forest management to wood biomass power plants. This is the first initiative in Japan supporting forest conservation that works with a local government through the Green Power Certification System, which is a focal point of the scheme and the system that Sony endorses.

Sony's goal is to contribute to forest conservation, currently mainly in the county of Yamamoto in Akita, by funding the transport of waste timber and the promotion of forest thinning, as well as encouraging fuel security and the stable operation of wood biomass power generation facilities.

The Akita Prefectural government will be in charge of transportation logistics and will start operations this fall. The Noshiro Forest Resources Utilization Cooperative Association in Akita, which owns wood biomass power generation facilities, has also been supportive of forest conservation in the prefecture and will undertake the collection of waste timber free of charge.

Sony intends to continue developing and using this scheme for contracts with other wood biomass power plants.

http://www.sony.net/
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Posted: 2008/08/05 11:54:28 PM

TAG Ecosystem , Energy , Local government , Manufacturing industry , Material reduction