Yamanashi Meijo is a long-established sake brewery and producer of the Shichiken brand of Japanese sake, located in Hokuto City of Yamanashi Prefecture. On January 30, 2023, the company announced a shift of all electricity usage to that derived from hydroelectric power generation.
With this transition, the company's annual 510 tons of CO2 emissions from electricity use have been reduced to zero. The brewery is the first alcoholic beverage manufacturer in Yamanashi Prefecture to carry out such an initiative. And according to the company, it is only the second in Japan.
Electricity Consumption at the Sake Brewery
The brewery consumes a considerable amount of electricity to make its sake, including that used for washing rice, temperature control during fermentation, and refrigeration.
It has now switched its power supply over to the "Yamanashi Power NEXT Satoyama Hydropower Plan." This plan limits the power source to electricity generated by the Yamanashi Prefectural Enterprise Bureau's hydroelectric power plants.
The brewery's annual power consumption stands at approximately 1.13 million kilowatt hours. By switching to this hydroelectric power plan, the company brought its electricity-related CO2 emissions down to zero.
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(Read the article in Japanese.)
Author: The Sankei Shimbun
