IHI Corp. expects the market for small geothermal projects to take off in Japan as it seeks cleaner sources of energy.
The Tokyo-based company has developed a 20-kilowatt generator capable of turning hot water into electricity that can be set up in as little as half a day, said Tomohiko Yamaguchi, an IHI official in charge of marketing the product.
"The government may want to push large-scale geothermal projects, but big ones are having a hard time," Yamaguchi said in a recent interview. "Small ones are easier to set up. They are faster to expand."