Travel giant H.I.S. (H.I.S.) is operating a thermal power generation project using palm oil as fuel in Kakuda City, Miyagi Prefecture.

The project will import 70,000 tons of palm oil annually from Malaysia or Indonesia. The expansion of oil palm plantations for palm oil production has been pointed out as the biggest factor in the destruction of tropical forests in Southeast Asia. Once the tropical forests, which consist of a variety of tree species, are cut down and turned into plantations of single oil palm trees, wildlife such as orangutans and elephants, which originally inhabited the tropical forests, are no longer able to live there, and biodiversity is lost. Tropical forests also store a large amount of carbon. Plantations may be created by developing peatlands, which store 30% of the carbon above ground. In addition, pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used extensively in the production process of palm oil, and greenhouse gases are emitted in many processes such as processing and waste liquid treatment in oil mills.

As a result, power generation using palm oil as fuel emits more CO2 than fossil fuel thermal power plants, accelerating climate change.