Image: Total starts building new solar plant in Japan. Photo: Courtesy of bernswaelz/Pixabay
Total Solar International, a subsidiary of the French oil and gas giant Total, has started construction of the 52MW Miyagi Osato Solar Park, located in Osato, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
The solar project, which achieved financial close, is expected to come online in 2021 and will generate clean and reliable electricity to Japanese households.
Total claims that the solar plant has been designed to fully meet with Japan’s stringent earthquake-resistant building standards. The facility will be equipped with nearly 116,000 SunPower’s Maxeon solar panels, offering reliable performance across the entire life of every installation.
Total renewables senior vice-president Julien Pouget said: “The Miyagi Osato Solar Park is Total’s third and biggest solar plant in Japan, which will allow us to reach a cumulated capacity of over 100 MWp in the country.
“This project is in line with Total’s commitment to develop renewable production capacities worldwide and in particular in the Japanese market, where we actively pursue our development.”
The solar plant will be operated by Miyagi Osato Solar Park
The solar plant will be operated by Miyagi Osato Solar Park, a special purpose company in which the majority stake of 90% is owned by Total Solar International and the remaining 10% stake is owned by SB Energy, which is a Japanese subsidiary of SoftBank Group.
Launch of the solar plant’s construction follows the beginning of the operation of two other solar plants by Total Solar International in Japan, including the 25MW Miyako Solar Park and the 27MW Nanao Power Plant.
Construction of the Miyako Solar Park began in May 2017. Located in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, the solar plant generates enough clean energy to power more than 8,000 Japanese households. Total began commercial operations at the solar facility in June this year.
The rapid growth of over 100MW of cumulative capacity was achieved in two years, the company stated.