Smart Solar begins building 34.5 MW in Japan

The Tokyo-based solar developer expects to connect the PV array to the grid in May 2020, according to an online statement. Kandenko is serving as EPC contractor, while Trina Solar is supplying 125,280 solar panels and Huawei is providing inverters, The Nikkei reported, without citing sources.

The project is being built on 45 hectares of hilly land near Yamaga, Kumamoto prefecture. Smart Solar will sell all of the electricity to regional utility Kyushu Electric Power at a feed-in tariff rate of JPY 36/kWh. The installation is expected to generate roughly 38 GWh of electricity per year upon completion.

The project is one of four PV arrays that Smart Solar plans to build in the Yamaga area. Earlier this year, it signed an agreement with the municipal authorities to build 39.6 MW at three sites, including the 34.45 MW array it started building this month. The three projects will be completed in the 2018-19 period.

It said in March that its build-out in Yamaga could reach 51.6 MW if a fourth site is included in its plan, but it has since raised this to 54 MW of capacity. It has yet to reveal specific plans for the fourth project.

Earlier this month, Smart Solar started construction on a 34 MW solar installation in northern Japan. The project in Kushiro, on the island of Hokkaido, will include 14.4 MWh of lithium-ion storage capacity. It did not reveal which companies have been selected to supply the PV modules and the lithium-ion storage battery. However, it did confirm that Kandenko will handle EPC duties for the project to the grid in January 2020.

The company has completed about 25 MW of PV capacity at 15 locations across Japan, with an additional 83.5 MW under construction at nine sites. It also provides O&M services for solar projects in the country.