In 2014, Kyocera, Kyudenko and Mizuho Bank agreed to jointly assess the feasibility for the construction the large-scale solar project on agricultural land on Ukujima island, Nagasaki.
The participation in the project has now been expanded with the addition of five other companies including SPCG Public, Tokyo Century, Furukawa Electric Company, Tsuboi, and The Eighteenth Bank.
The plan to develop the project was initially proposed by Photovolt Development Partners (PVDP) in April 2013 in a bid to help contribute to environmental protection and economic revitalization on the remote island.
Kyocera said that the feed-in tariff (FIT) rights from PVDP will be transferred to a newly established special purpose company Ukujima Future Energy Holdings.
The partners are planning to commence the construction of the project in 2019. The project will feature approximately 1,650,000 Kyocera high-output multicrystalline silicon solar modules.
Expected to produce 515,000MWh of power annually, the project involves construction of 64km undersea cable between Ukujima and the island of Kyushu.
Power produced from the project will be sold to the local utility company, Kyushu Electric Power. Purchase price will be based on the national FIT program for renewable energy.
For the project, a land management company will lease agricultural land or deserted arable land on the island from respective owners.
The land will then be subleased to Ukujima Future Energy, a subsidiary of the special purpose company Ukujima Future Energy Holdings, for the construction and operation of the solar plant.
Image: The new solar project in Japan is expected to help contribute to economic revitalization on the Ukujima island. Photo: courtesy of Naypong/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
