G Three to sell one-third of 50% stakes in 98 MW

Sunlife — a PV equipment supplier based in Kasama, Ibaraki prefecture — has agreed to buy a 16.7% stake from G Three in a project company that is developing a 50 MW solar project in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture. Sunlife will also purchase a 16.7% stake in another PV array that a separate special purpose vehicle is developing in the Sendai area, according to an online statement.

G Three did not disclose the financial terms of the two deals, citing a confidentiality agreement. Upon completion of the transactions, the Tokyo-based company will retain 33.3% stakes in the two unfinished projects. Two 50% stakes that its venture partner, Osaka-based Uniroot, holds in the projects will remain unchanged.

The two project companies — Sendai Taiyoko Center GK and Sendai Kamiko Daini GK — will need to secure grid-connection rights in order for the stake sales to proceed. Regional utility Tohoku Electric Power will also need to approve the undisclosed components that will be used in the projects. G Three has not revealed any information about the PV module supplier and EPC contractor for the two installations.

Sendai Taiyoko Center is overseeing the development of the 50 MW project. It will be built on a 108.7-hectare plot of land, with all electricity to be sold to Tohoku Electric at a feed-in tariff (FIT) rate of JPY 36 ($0.33)/kWh. Although G Three has not revealed when the project will be finished, it is expected to generate 47,000 MWh of electricity per year upon completion.

Sendai Kamiko is developing the 48 MW solar array on roughly 468 hectares of land. The electricity will be sold to Tohoku Electric at a FIT rate of JPY 32/kWh. Annual electricity generation will likely reach 45,000 MWh, although no completion date has been announced for the project.

Tokyo-listed G Three bought the stakes in the two project companies last November. The group’s Eco Bonds subsidiary trades PV equipment for large-scale solar projects. Its Eco Techno Service unit provides O & M services.