Kyocera Corporation, along with six other companies, today announced the completion of capital investment procedures for the establishment of Kagoshima Mega Solar Power Corporation, a new company which will be tasked with operating a 70 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in southern Japan. The utility-scale solar power plant will become the largest in Japan.
The new company will develop and operate the previously announced 70MW solar power plant in Kagoshima City (Kagoshima Prefecture) on land owned by IHI Corporation — with the power generated to be purchased by Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. under the guidelines of the new feed-in tariff (FIT) program which was implemented on July 1 in Japan. The total project cost is estimated at approximately 27 billion yen (approx. 345 million US dollars), with seven investment companies involved (including Kyocera), and Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. set to devise a financing plan for the project. Construction is set to commence in September of this year, with plans for completion by fall of 2013.
The Kyocera Group will be responsible for the supply of 100% of the solar modules and part of the construction & maintenance of the system. Kyocera is the largest shareholder in the establishment of the new company.
Expectations and interest in solar energy have heightened to a new level in Japan with the need to resolve power supply issues caused by the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the start of a revamped FIT program which stipulates that solar installations producing more than 10 kilowatts (kW) of solar energy be subsidized with a feed-in tariff of 42 yen (approx. 53 cents) per kilowatt hour for a period of 20 years. Through the start of this new solar power project Kyocera aims to proactively tackle environmental problems by promoting the use of renewable energy.