Kyocera, seven others plan to operate 480 MW solar power project

Tokyo [Japan], Jan.25 (ANI): Kyocera Corporation and seven other companies, including the Kyudenko Corporation, Mizuho Bank Limited, SPCG Public Company Limited, Tokyo Century Corporation, Furukawa Electric Company Limited, Tsuboi Corporation and The Eighteenth Bank Limited, are jointly investigating the possibility of operating a maximum 480-megawatt (MW) solar power project on the island of Ukujima, Nagasaki.

Kyocera, Kyudenko and Mizuho Bank have been involved in this project since June 2014, and with the project entering a new phase, the remaining five companies mentioned above, have also joined it.

Photovolt Development Partners GmbH (PVDP) began planning the solar power project in April 2013 with the aim of helping to contribute to environmental protection and economic revitalisation on the remote island.

It has been agreed that the feed-in tariff (FIT) rights would be transferred from PVDP to the newly established special purpose company named "Ukujima Future Energy Holdings G.K.," and it will restart as a new project.

Approximately 200 billion yen (approx. USD 1.80 billion) in investment is planned for the project, with a goal of starting construction in FY 2019 (fiscal year ending March 2019). The project plans to utilize approximately 1,650,000 Kyocera high-output multi-crystalline silicon solar modules to create a 480 MW system that would generate an estimated 515,000 MWh per year.

By constructing a 64-kilometer undersea cable between Ukujima and the island of Kyushu, all power produced from the project will be sold to the local utility company, Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc., based on the national FIT program for renewable energy.

Under the plan, a land management company would lease agricultural land or deserted arable land on the island from respective owners to then be subleased to a special purpose company named "Ukujima Future Energy G.K." - a subsidiary of the Ukujima Future Energy Holdings G.K., to construct and operate the solar power systems. In this project, some of the solar systems would be constructed on stilts, allowing the land to be concurrently utilized for both power generation and agriculture.

In concurrence with the benefits of this project entering its next phase, Kyocera, Kyudenko, SPCG, Tokyo Century, Furukawa Electric, Tsuboi, Mizuho Bank and The Eighteenth Bank will continue to explore the project with the aim to achieve an environmentally friendly business model using solar power, while contributing to the development of the island's agricultural base.

As one of the participants of this project, SPCG is Thailand's leading solar power project developers operating 36 solar power plants totaling 260MW on a land area of 2,000 acres, and the company has been collaborating with Kyocera since 2009.

The companies involved will work with the Nagasaki prefectural government, the city of Sasebo and authorities in the community to investigate the most appropriate business model and ensure that environment protection is considered in the selection of sites and construction of the solar power systems. (ANI)