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Japan: 70 MW PV project in the pipeline

Kyocera Corporation, IHI Corporation and the Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd have unveiled their plans to install a 70 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic plant in southern Japan.

An artist's rendering of the 70 MW photovoltaic plant.

Kyocera

Construction on the plant, set to be located in Kagoshima City, in Kagoshima Prefecture, is scheduled to begin this July. While Kyocera will supply the 290,000 multicrystalline photovoltaic modules and be responsible for part of the construction and maintenance, IHI will lease the land – approximately 314 acres – and Mizuho will provide the around 25 billion yen (€234 million) investment.

When complete, the plant is expected to generate around 79,000 MWh of energy annually, which should be enough to power roughly 22,000 average households. At this stage, it is believed that the generated power will be purchased by the Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc.

In response to whether all the required permits had been secured, a spokesperson for Kyocera tells pv magazine that the project has been planned in conjunction with the Kagoshima municipal and prefectural governments. "Their support has been given to the project, so no objections have been risen in regards to required permits," they said. They added that no decisions have yet been made regarding other equipment manufacturers, however, Kyudenko Corporation and Takenaka Corporation are planned to be partly responsible for the construction.

Kyocera, IHI and Mizuho Corporate Bank go on to say the plant is being built to "help solve Japan’s power supply issues caused by the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and to make a contribution to environmental protection". They also cite the eagerly anticipated feed-in tariffs, set to come into play this July 1, as a key driver.

In addition to the 70 MW plant, the three companies say they will establish a "special-purpose" company in June, in order to undertake the business operation of the project. Kyocera is expected to become the largest shareholder.

In a statement released, they explained, "In the process of exploring the feasibility of the new business, Kyocera and IHI have enlisted the support of and plan to get cooperation for investment in the special-purpose company from KDDI Corporation; Kyudenko Corporation; Kagoshima Bank, Ltd.; Takenaka Corporation and others."