Zenbird Editorial Team100% renewable energy provider Minna-denryoku launched a new electricity plan called Latair Denki last week. This is a collaboration with CLASS EARTH, the creator of the educational anime Latair of the Earth, and supports biodiversity and domestic forest management.
The plan comes in both corporate and household versions. The corporate plan provides electricity derived entirely from domestic woody biomass. This energy is sourced through a partnership with the Yoshino Power Plant in Nara Prefecture. The facility utilises unused thinnings from local forest management as its primary fuel. This creates a market for small-diameter trees that previously held little commercial value, thus contributing to the revitalisation of the forestry industry.
For individual households, the plan offers 100 per cent renewable energy, which includes about 20 per cent woody biomass. Minna-denryoku provides a monthly donation of 100 yen per contract to support Earth Saver, an environmental education project managed by CLASS EARTH. This project provides workshops and educational materials designed to teach the next generation about the importance of nature and diverse ecosystems.
Utilising domestic woody biomass is considered carbon neutral because the carbon dioxide released during combustion was previously absorbed by the trees during their growth. Furthermore, sourcing wood domestically reduces the greenhouse gas emissions associated with long-distance transport. Minna-denryoku aims to increase the proportion of biomass in its individual plans to 100 per cent in the future.
The collaboration comes from the educational anime Latair of the Earth, which was broadcast across Japan in 2025. The series follows a young boy who transforms into various endangered species to learn about different ecosystems. The content was supervised by WWF Japan to ensure ecological accuracy.
[Reference] Minna-denryoku News (Japanese)
