The companies have together raised $867m in project finance loans from a syndicate of banks that include Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, UFJ, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking.
GE Energy Financial Services owns a 60% interest in the 231MW plant, which will be constructed in Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture.
Toyo Engineering and Shimizu will construct the plant on 260ha of city land on the former Kinkai salt field.
The project will include a new 110kV, 16km underground transmission line, which will travel via a residential area and cross various major rivers.
Mott MacDonald will supervise construction of the plant while Chudenko will provide operations and maintenance services.
Construction work is due to commence in November 2014 and the plant is expected to start commercial operations in the second quarter of 2019.
Chugoku Electric Power will buy the electricity generated from the plant under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
Kuni Umi Asset Management president and chief executive officer Yasuyo Yamazaki said: "In addition to the Setouchi solar project, we developed a mega-solar power plant in Mito-city Ibaraki Prefecture and started the construction of a woodchip biomass fuel power plant in Kawaminami-cho, Miyazaki Prefecture.
"Now we are planning a wind farm in Nakadomari-cho, Aomori Prefecture. With these projects, we are contributing to the Ideal Region Development with renewable energy."
GE Energy Financial Services managing director and Japan business leader Sushil Verma said: "Japan’s favorable regulatory policies make solar power attractive and diversify the country’s power generation sources.
"For us, the Kuni Umi project expands our international and renewable energy footprints, which already include investment commitments of $1.8 billion in equity and debt in more than one gigawatt of solar power projects worldwide."
Image: The 231MW solar photovoltaic power plant will be constructed in Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Photo: Courtesy of Toyo Engineering Corporation.
