Japan’s Kyocera announced its joint project with partner Century Tokyo Leasing Corp. of building a 13.4 MW floating solar power plant in the country. Kyocera will build and operate the photovoltaic facility on the Yamakura Dam in Chiba prefecture. Century Tokyo Leasing Corp. will supply the financing and Kyocera will take charge of the equipment and supplies, as well as provide the staff that will operate and maintain the facility.
When completed, the floating solar power plant will be the largest of its class in terms of solar energy output, in the world.
Floating solar power plant largest solar provider worldwide
The photovoltaic installations will be comprised of 50,000 Kyocera modules which are projected to supply more than 15,630 MWh of solar energy per year. The output of these modules is enough to provide electricity to almost 4,700 households.
By providing this huge solar energy to the local community, the partners of the project estimate that the floating solar power plant will be able to offset around 7,800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
The projected date of commercial operation for the solar power plant is slated in March, 2016. It will cover a body of water approximately 180,000 square meters on the Yamakura Dam.
Public Enterprise Agency of Chiba Prefecture fully support floating solar power plant
With the intent of reducing its burden on the environment, the Public Enterprise Agency of Chiba Prefecture had been actively searching for companies to build and operate a floating solar power plant. They designated the Yamakura Dam as the location of the plant.
Due to its experience and expertise in building utility-scale solar facilities in Japan, Kyocera TCL Solar was chosen to handle the project. The projected date of the plant’s start of operation on March, 2016 was agreed upon after negotiations were finalized with different project proponents including the Tokyo Electric Power Company.
“When we first started R&D for solar energy in the mid 1970’s, the technology was only viable for small applications such as street lamps, traffic signs and telecommunication stations in mountainous areas,” explained Nobuo Kitamura, senior executive officer and general manager of the Corporate Solar Energy Group at Kyocera.
“Since then, we have been working to make solar energy use more ubiquitous in society, and have expanded our business to residential, commercial and utility-scale solar applications,” he added.
“We are excited to work with our partners on this project, taking another step forward by utilizing untapped bodies of water as solar power generation sites,” Kitamura stated.
Kyocera set to boost local economy with new floating solar power plant
Kyocera and Century Tokyo Leasing will also use local companies and local residents in building, operating and maintaining the floating solar plant. They will also establish an environmental education facility near floating solar power plant. This educational facility will provide local elementary students with environmental classes to help them appreciate the value of the plant.
With these community initiatives, Kyocera and Century hope to drum up the role that the facility will play in the development of the local community. The business partners are fully committed to promoting the part of the new floating solar power plant and solar energy in developing a low-carbon society.
