Date : December 10, 2008
【Press Tour】December 10, 2008: KAWASAKI CITY Press Tour
post date : 2013.08.22
A Curtain-raiser of “Kawasaki International Eco-tech Fair 2009”
During the post-war period of economic development, Kawasaki suffered from serious pollution but overcame the damage it had suffered to be reborn as a city of the environment. The city will host the"Kawasaki International Eco-tech Fair 2009" at Todoroki Arena on February 17-18, 2009.
In this press tour, Mayor Takao Abe will brief on Kawasaki's past and future efforts in terms of environment as well as the concept of the upcoming Eco-tech Fair. The tour will also explore the Kawasaki waterfront area and visit the following two major participant firms of the Fair to get a glimpse of their cutting-edge technology: Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Kawasaki Thermal Power Station, with the advanced combined cycle generation, the world’s most efficient, Shimizu Corporation Soil Remediation Plant, whose plant to clean up dioxin-contaminated soil, the first in Japan, will come into operation shortly.
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The City of Kawasaki (Kanagawa Prefecture) will host the “Kawasaki International Eco-tech Fair 2009”at Todoroki Arena on February 17-18, 2009. It features Kawasaki’s efforts in the field of environment, and state-of-art environmental technologies developed by Japanese firms e.g. energy-saving technology involved in part of a production line. Through this fair, the City intends to spread these environmental technologies to countries outside Japan and contribute to the international society.
During the post-war period of economic development, Kawasaki suffered from serious pollution but overcame the damage it had suffered to be reborn as a city of the environment. Naturally, the city’s most important issue today is prevention of global warming. In February 2008, it launched “Carbon Challenge Kawasaki Eco Strategy (CC Kawasaki)”, with three major pillars: (1) utilize the appeal and advantages of Kawasaki to promote environmental programs; (2)make a global contribution through environmental technology; (3) reduce CO2 emissions through cooperation with various interests.
In this press tour, Mayor Takao Abe will brief on Kawasaki’s past and future efforts in terms of environment as well as the concept of the upcoming Eco-tech Fair. The tour will also explore the Kawasaki waterfront area and visit the following two major participant firms of the Fair to get a glimpse of their cutting-edge technology: Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Kawasaki Thermal Power Station, with the advanced combined cycle generation, the world’s most efficient, Shimizu Corporation Soil Remediation Plant, whose plant to clean up dioxin-contaminated soil, the first in Japan, will come into operation shortly.
*Kawasaki City, the host, and the Foreign Press Center, Japan co-organized this press tour.
*Kawasaki City's home page
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Presentations:
1. Briefing on "Kawasaki International Eco-tech Fair 2009" by Mr. Takao Abe, Mayor of Kawasaki City
Born in 1943 in Fukushima Prefecture, Mr. Abe became mayor of Kawasaki City in 2001 with his strong determination to “fix Kawasaki”, a city full of issues including the fiscal problem, with all his might. Four years later, he was re-elected on the manifesto “Create vibrant city Kawasaki and press forward the reform without hesitation”. Mayor Abe is now serving his second term.
While Kawasaki City played an important role in the post-war period of economic development as the core of Keihin Industrial Zone, the city suffered serious pollution but overcame the damage it had suffered ahead of other cities in Japan. Today, with approx. 1.4-million population, Kawasaki has been reborn as one of world’s most advanced industrial cities, containing the R&D institutions of Japan’s cutting-edge industries. The city’s top-priority issue is prevention of global warming. In February 2008, it launched “Carbon Challenge Kawasaki Eco Strategy (CC Kawasaki)” and a year after this will host the “Kawasaki International Eco-tech Fair 2009”, advocating “Kawasaki, a world hub of eco-technology”.
In 1961 the Kawasaki Thermal Power Station started operation as TEPCO’s largest power station using coal as fuel. It has been supplying electricity not only to firms and factories in the Kawasaki waterfront area but also to households and office buildings in the greater Tokyo area. Since 1970s it changed the fuel from coal to environmentally-friendly naphtha, and then to LNG, liquefied natural gas, which does not generate ash dust.
In recent years the Station has been in the process of renovation to take advantage of a collection of state-of-art technologies. The new station has introduced the MACC, the most advanced combined cycle power generation. Combined cycle power generation is a method of generating electric power that combines “gas turbine power generation” (fuel is burned in compressed air to generate high temperature, high-pressure combustion gas; the expansion force of this gas turns the gas turbine) with “steam turbine power generation” (fuel is burned in the boiler to heat water and generate steam; the expansion force of this steam turns the steam turbine).
The new station introduced the 1500℃ class combined cycle power generation to its No. 3 unit in September 2007 as well as No. 2 unit in June 08, and was able to generate a total output of 1-million kW and improved the thermal efficiency to 59%, the world’s highest. It is friendly to the environment by reducing approximately 25% of fuel (LNG) usage as well as of CO2 emissions, and reducing approximately 20% of nitrogen oxide (NOx), which causes acid rain, by using specialized machines to remove it. In February 2009, No. 1 unit as the final unit will operate and generate a total output of 1.5-million kW.
3. Shimizu Corporation Soil Remediation Plant
The Soil Contamination Countermeasures Law, which came into effect in 2003, required factories and other facilities that use harmful substances to test the soil after operation and tackle contamination.Recently, the Ministry of the Environment has decided to revise the law, establishing a policy of requiring an investigation of soil contamination when an area of more than 3,000 m2 that carries the possibility of being contaminated from past usage is being developed.
Prior to the implementation of the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Law, Shimizu Corporation started the operation of the Soil Remediation Plant in the Kawasaki waterfront area. Since then, it has built a track record of accepting and washing soil of various qualities and concentrations, which had been contaminated by heavy metal, oil and pesticides. It started operation of onsite-type plants nationwide. Its track record of washing treatment reached 2 million tons as of September this year.
In a short while, the nation’s first remediation plant exclusively for dioxin will be completed and will start operation in Shiraishi-cho, Kawasaki-ward. It has the advantages of being low in cost, reusing washed soil, and reducing CO2.
On this press tour, we will visit a fixed-type plant of the Kawasaki office, which started operation in September 2002 and then became certified as the first contaminated soil remediation plant in the construction industry.
Tour itinerary and application details:
1. Itinerary (Tentative):
December 10 (Wed.), 2008
08:20 Meet at JR Kawasaki Station (move by chartered bus)
09:00-10:30 Visit Tokyo Electric Power Company Kawasaki Thermal Power Station
11:00-12:00 Briefing by Mayor Takao Abe (@Kawasaki City Hall)
12:15-13:00 Lunch
13:30-15:00 Visit Shimizu Corporation Soil Remediation Plant
15:30 Disperse at JR Kawasaki Station
2. Qualification: Bearer of Gaimusho Press Registration card
3. Expenses: 1,500 yen per person including transportation and lunch
*FPCJ will inform the participants of payment methods, cancellation fee etc. later on.
4. Participants: Limited to the first 10 applicants on a first-come first-served basis.
(Only one reporter and one photographer from each company, but two participants from each TV team will be acceptable.)
5. FPCJ Contact: Ms. Koizumi or Ms. Hama (Tel: 03-3501-5070, 3405)
6. Remarks:
(1) There are some restrictions on photographing and filming at the tour sites. Please follow the instructions of the officials on duty.
(2) Kawasaki City and FPC will not be liable for any inconvenience, trouble or accident that might occur in the course of the tour.