Japan Kyushu Electric Power Cultivates 'Salmon' at Thermal Power Plant... "Exports to Korea and Taiwan Within the Year"

Closed Thermal Power Plant Recycled as Aquaculture Farm
Export Plans Amid Fukushima Nuclear Wastewater Controversy

Kyushu Electric Power in Japan announced that it will utilize the site of a closed thermal power plant to start a salmon farming business and export the salmon to neighboring countries such as Korea and Taiwan. As idle power facilities increase to curb carbon emissions, the plan is to repurpose these sites as fish farms. However, controversy is expected as tensions with neighboring countries intensify due to the Fukushima nuclear plant contaminated water discharge issue.

On the 7th, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that Kyushu Electric Power’s salmon brand "Mirai Salmon" began appearing in fish sections of supermarkets and large retail stores in Fukuoka Prefecture from mid-October. Kyushu Electric Power established the "Fish Farm Mirai Joint Company" with four companies including a fisheries trading firm, engaging in all aspects from farming to distribution of salmon.

Kyushu Electric Power's joint venture company with a fisheries trading company, 'Fish Farm Mirai' website. (Photo by Fish Farm Mirai)

Previously, Kyushu Electric Power built a salmon farm at the Buzen Thermal Power Plant in Buzen City. The first unit of Buzen Thermal Power Plant was decommissioned in 2019, and the second unit has been in planned suspension since 2018. Kyushu Electric Power created a 600-pyeong (approximately 1,983 square meters) salmon farm on the closed power plant site. After conducting trial farming with experimental tanks since 2019, they installed eight large tanks with a diameter of 10 meters and a depth of 3.6 meters in March this year to start full-scale production.

The tanks are equipped with the latest facilities utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT). Water temperature and oxygen concentration are automatically controlled via IoT, and AI cameras capture the salmon underwater to automatically measure their size and weight. Each tank can raise up to 5,000 salmon.

Smart tank for raising salmon by Kyushu Electric Power. (Photo by PC Farm Mirai)

Kyushu Electric Power aims to produce about 150 tons of salmon annually this year and 300 tons from 2024 onward. Initially, the salmon will be sold to supermarkets and conveyor belt sushi restaurants in the Kyushu region. They are also considering exporting the salmon chilled or live to Korea and Taiwan. However, given the ongoing controversy over the Fukushima contaminated water discharge, it is uncertain how much actual export volume will be achieved.

A Kyushu Electric Power representative stated, "If local consumer response is good, we will start exporting in earnest." They are also considering exports to Southeast Asia and plan to expand farming facilities to ultimately increase production scale to 3,000 tons annually.

This salmon farming project was an idea selected from an internal contest for Kyushu Electric Power employees aimed at creating new business areas. Nikkei reported, "Kyushu Electric Power aims to earn 50% of its 2030 target consolidated profit of 150 billion yen from businesses other than electricity," adding that the company is focusing on creating businesses in new fields.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.