Energy
With the aim of preserving a healthy and productive environment for our descendants 100 years into the future, we work to offer proposals that will contribute to the creation of a low-carbon, recycling-oriented society where people can live in harmony with nature, while paying due consideration to the virtuous cycle between the region, the economy, and the environment.
NiX is a small hydro power generation developer who excels at proposing total solutions, from site development to power-generation planning, fund procurement, construction management, operation, and maintenance. Utilizing our expertise in small hydro power generation, we take part in projects not only within Japan, but in other Asian countries as well, as a private enterprise.
Approach
NiX's Services Related to Small Hydro Power Generation
NiX's Involvement in Power Generation Projects
Project
Power Plant in Operation
Yudani River Small Hydro Power
| Location | Tamukai, Nanto city, Toyama prefecture |
|---|---|
| Hydropower generation type | Structure: Conduit type; Water utilization method: Run-off-river type |
| Output |
Approved maximum capacity: P = 804.2 kW Annual power generation: Approx. 4,111 MWh (approx. 1,200 households' worth) |
| Start of operation | January 7, 2019 |
| Water consumption | Maximum discharge: 1.3 m³/s |
| Head | Effective head: 73.0 m |
| Equipment |
Water turbine: Horizontal Francis water turbine (×1) Generator: 3-phase induction generator (6.6 kV, 60 Hz) (×1) Penstock: ⌀800 (L = 1,260 m) |
Features of the Power Plant
Yudani River Small Hydro Power Plant, which operates using water from the Yudani River, a first-class river flowing through Nanto City, is a run-of-river type that uses river water, with a total head of about 85m.
River water taken at the upstream part of the Yudani River will be sent through a newly installed setting basin and will be carry water by pressure hydraulic line buried along the river in Nanto City Road. And power is generated by a pressure turbine (one Francis turbine) near the junction of the Sho River at the downstream of the Yudani River.
From the beginning of the concept, the NiX Group has been conducting scale optimization and economic rationality research, design, financing, and construction.
The maximum power generation output is 804 kW, and the total project cost is about 1 billion yen. This is a relatively large-scale power plant among small hydropower plants developed by private companies.
Effort of NiX’s renewable energy
This is the second power plant as a domestic small hydro power plant among the operating power plant in the NiX Group's to effort energy management business.
Hiraso River Small Hydro Power
| Location | Nakato-machi, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture |
|---|---|
| Output | 198kW |
| Start of operation | May 7, 2015 |
| Estimated annual power generation | Approx. 976 MWh (approx. 270 households' worth) |
| Head | Effective head: 17.17 m |
| Water consumption | Maximum discharge: 1.5 m³/s |
| Equipment |
Water turbine: S-shaped tubular water turbine Generator: Horizontal-shaft 3-phase induction generator Penstock: 800 mm dia. |
Ishikawa Prefecture's First Small Hydropower Plant to Utilize an Existing Sediment Control Dam
The Sediment Control Division of the Public Works Department of the Ishikawa Prefectural Office called for the operators of the Hiraso River Small Hydro Power Plant from among the private sector by public advertisement, based on the following three policies: local consumption of locally produced energy, improvement of the environment surrounding the sediment control dam, and effective utilization of facilities owned by the prefecture. The project will continue over the next twenty years to operate and manage the power Plant. This small hydro power generation project, utilizing a publicly owned sediment control dam and funds from the private sector, is the first attempt of its kind in Ishikawa Prefecture, and its form is considered advanced even on a national level.
Fundraising, design, construction, management, and operation of this small hydro power project are conducted comprehensively by Hiraso River Small Hydro Power Co., Ltd., a joint venture capitalized by Kakimoto Co., Ltd. and NiX Co., Ltd.
Features of the Power Plant
The Hiraso River Sediment Control Dam, constructed in 1982 by Ishikawa Prefecture, is located 0.2 km upstream on the Hiraso River, which joins the Uchikawa River, a branch river in the Sai River system. The Sai River is a second-class river flowing in Kanazawa City. The catchment area of the dam is approx. 10.8 km². The Hiraso River Small Hydro Power Plant generates electricity using the head of water behind the sediment control dam.
NiX Yatsuo Solar Power
| Location | Kami-Sasahara, Yatsuo-machi, Toyama City |
|---|---|
| Output | 1,260 kW (power conditioners: 1,260 kW; solar panels: 1,416 kW) |
| Start of operation | October 1, 2014 |
| Estimated annual power generation | Approx. 1,233 MWh (approx. 300 households' worth per year*) |
| Equipment |
Solar panels: Polycrystalline panels (295 W × 4,800 panels) Power conditioners: 630 kW × 2 units Stands: Frames fixed on ground screws (H = 1.5 m) |
Features of the Power plant
The NiX Yatsuo Solar Power plant was constructed as a photovoltaic power station compatible with snowy mountainous regions (NiX model), which resolves the trade-offs between cost and generation efficiency under the adverse environmental conditions of the Hokuriku region. The adoption of two latest-model high-performance 630 kW power conditioners, alongside the optimal arrangement of the panels determined through simulations based on their capacity, has enabled efficient power generation overall, while partly limiting the daytime electricity output. With costs kept at the national average level (275,000 yen/kW), the investment payback period is estimated to be about 14 years, which is relatively short.
- Maximum utilization of the flat ground in a former borrow pit site enabled an optimal arrangement of solar panels.
- The two latest-model high-performance 630 kW (1,000 V) power conditioners (PCS) enable efficient power generation, even with low solar radiation.
- Adoption of stands with piles driven into the earth, taking advantage of the ground characteristics of the former borrow pit site, helped to achieve a significant cost reduction for stands with a height that allows for the accumulation of snow (H = 1.5 m).
Yuwaku Small Hydro Power（Japan）
| Hydropower generation type | Run of River |
|---|---|
| Output |
Approved maximum capacity：P = 160 kW Annual power generation：1,139 MWh |
| Start of operation | April 2022 |
| Water consumption | Maximum discharge 0.26 m³/s |
| Head | Effective Head 76.8 m |
| Equipment |
Water turbine：Reverse running pump turbine×1 unit Penstock：φ400 mm |
Power plant under Construction
Tongar Hydro Power（Indonesia）
Power Plant in Development
Ketaun Hydro Power (Indonesia)
Consulting
A Small Hydropower Generation Project in Bali, Indonesia
Toyama City, as part of its activities to promote the FutureCity Initiative, has concluded a cooperation agreement on a project with Tabanan Regency, Bali, Indonesia. Based on this agreement, in relation to the overseas sales expansion of open-type water turbines by a water turbine manufacturer, this project, serving as the Feasibility Survey Aiming to Resolve the Electric Power Shortage through the Introduction of a Small Hydropower Generation System Applicable to Irrigation Canals, was selected for a Feasibility Survey for the Program to Support Japanese SMEs' Overseas Business Development promoted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2015, and the survey lasted for approximately one year. As the next step, the project was selected for a verification survey (2017), where a water turbine will be introduced and investigated for effectiveness over a two-year period starting in April, 2017. NiX is involved in this project as an external member, coordinating the entire project and providing consultation on small hydropower generation.