The 14.9 MW Ambi geothermal Power plant, located in the Hachimanhei area of Iwate Prefecture, Japan, has officially started commercial operations. The plant is owned and operated by Amby Geothermal Energy, a joint venture formed by Mitsubishi Integrated Materials Corporation (MMC), Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Corporation (MGC) and Electric Power Development Company Limited (J-POWER).

Construction of the power plant has been underway since August 2019. The project is supported by the Geothermal Resources Development Fund Debt Guarantee Program of the Japan Metal and Energy Security Organization (JOGMEC). The power plant uses a single flash turbine.

Ambi Geothermal Power Plant is the first geothermal power plant in Iwate Prefecture in 28 years with an installed capacity of more than 10 megawatts. All electricity produced by Appi will be provided under the Renewable energy feed-in Tariff (FIT) mechanism.

The Ambi Geothermal plant is a significant milestone for project partners MMC, MGC and J-Power as it is their second geothermal plant after the 46 MW Uabizawa Geothermal Plant in Akita Prefecture. Editor/Xu Shengpeng