Drops of wood, blotting into the system - 2007, Sakai, Osaka, where the dream of burning waste wood goes

Drops of wood, blotting into the system - 2007, Sakai, Osaka, where the dream of burning waste wood goes

In 2007, Japan was approaching the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, and the Ministry of the Environment was taking on the challenge of promoting the use of waste wood-derived bioethanol. Ethanol produced at BJK in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, began to be supplied to the Kansai region as E3, but only 107 vehicles were registered. Systemic complications and a lack of supply stations slowed the spread. Behind this was a "stove-piped administration" in which energy policies were not coordinated between the Ministry of the Environment and other ministries. The enthusiasm of the Ministry of the Environment was spinning out of control in the field, and a cold wind blew in through the seams of the actual system. While the U.S. was pushing grain-based bioethanol, Japan was pinning its hopes on inedible waste materials, but the system was still fragile; BJK's production capacity was also burned out, while a comprehensive strategy with diverse renewable energy sources was
required. The discrepancy between the system and the ideal quietly cooled the heat of the policy - the landscape of the times was blotched here.