Renova to build 21.6 MW in central Japan

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, in cooperation with Mie Bank and other regional lenders, arranged financing for the planned installation. Tokyo-based Renova did not disclose the terms of the financing package. It also did not reveal the PV module supplier for the project.

It will build the PV array on a 68-hectare plot of land in Yokkaichi, Mie. Upon completion in March 2019, the project will likely generate about 24.3 GWh of electricity per year, or enough to supply power to about 6,750 homes.

In February of this year, Renova — which also develops wind and biomass projects — listed its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s (TSE) Mothers board. In its initial public offering, the company offered 1,210,000 common shares at JPY 750 ($6.76) per share, with 650,000 of them newly issued. It raised JPY 907.5 million in its IPO.

In May 2016, Renova revealed plans to expand its solar portfolio to more than 300 MW. Last summer, it switched on a 19 MW solar plant in Otsu, in southwestern Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture. It also completed a 20 MW solar installation in Akita prefecture.

Its bigger operational PV projects in Japan include a 40 MW site in Futtsu, Chiba prefecture, a 15.3 MW solar array in Itako, Ibaraki prefecture, and a 24.8 MW plant in Nasu-Shiobara, Tochigi prefecture. It plans to finish building a 48 MW installation in Karumai, Iwate prefecture, by July 2019. It also plans to connect an additional 80.8 MW of solar capacity to the grid at the same site by December 2019, according to its website.