TOKYO -- A biomass power plant operator in Japan is in the process of purchasing coal-fired plants from a major power company and other parties that it plans to refit so that they burn its cleaner fuel, Nikkei has learned.

eRex has entered into talks with companies that own coal-fired plants in Japan's Kanto, Hokuriku and Shikoku regions. The biomass plant operator is looking to acquire about four coal-fired plants of about 150,000kW to 500,000kW each, for tens of billions of yen.

The independent power supplier would install storage facilities and crushers needed for biomass fuel, then start operations in 2022 or later. Coal would initially be mixed with biomass, which would account for about 30% of the fuel. The plants would run solely on biomass by around 2025.

Biomass fuel -- which can come from tress, plants or municipal solid waste -- is considered a renewable energy source. Purchasing fully depreciated coal-fired power plants would lower costs. The cost of generating a kilowatt with a 30% biomass mix is estimated to be less than 10 yen at the purchased plants, lower than the cost of coal-fired power generation.