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New, Massive Solar Power Plant Goes Online in Japan

By Rain Noe - November 15, 2013

in Sustainable Design

Japan was once colloquially known as the Land of the Rising Sun, and it can't be only environmentalists hoping that a country with such a moniker would take solar power to heart. Following the Fukushima disaster of 2011, safe and renewable sources of energy have been under study, and at least one corporate giant has done something about it--rather swiftly, by Japanese standards.

This month Japanese electronics manufacturer Kyocera pulled the wraps off of the Kagoshima Nanatsujima Mega Solar Power Plant, a project constructed at a backbreaking pace from September 2012 to October 2013. Some 290,000 solar panels are arrayed on 1.27 million square meters on the coast of Kagoshima Prefecture, making it the largest solar power plant in Japan.

The juice started flowing on November 1st, and the KNMSPP is expected to generate 70 megawatts of power, enough to power 22,000 homes in the region. As promising as that sounds, the stark math is actually a bit dismal compared to Fukushima: The latter facility generated 4.7 gigawatts, or enough to power nearly 1.5 million homes. Of course, solar power is far safer for the earthquake-prone nation. And the Kagoshima plant is meant to have an educational function as well. The plant is open to the public, with designed-in viewing facilities; tours for students and tourists "provide information about environmental issues and the science behind photovoltaic energy generation," says Kyocera's news release. "By dedicating this facility, all parties involved hope to foster a deeper understanding of renewable energy and further facilitate a low-carbon society." If today's youth grow up learning that solar can work, that can only benefit Japan--those students, after all, are the ones who will be tasked with solving the next generation's power issues.

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JimM

11 years ago

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Solar, is a fantastic possible technology, but treating it like a typical mega-power plant totally misses the capability of it. Solar has the capability of being easily distributed throughout a community - reducing transmission distance which reduces power losses. I think it's great that this has been made, and it would be interesting to hear about the design choices of why they have put this at sea-level, but this is not something we are going to see repeated often. It's solar panels on roofs throughout neighbourhoods that will be the drastic change needed - no they won't provide 100% of the power needed in the cities, but then we also need to give up the idea that we can create central power plants like we have done in the past. I'm ranting now, crap.
I hope this project helps improve the penetration of solar tech into the power market.
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boB

11 years ago

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Maybe this is put near the ocean because the PV modules get cooled better ? They work better when they have air flow over them and are cooler.

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Toby

11 years ago

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Doesn't it seem a bit risky to put it directly at sea level, on the ocean? I realize that land is expensive in Japan, but I wouldn't think you'd want storm surges sloshing over those panels... Maybe floating barges would be a better compromise?
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C

11 years ago

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Well the NON-stark news. Is that if bad weather hit's we won't have radioactive waste pouring into our oceans.

Nor will we have radioactive waste ever from this facility.
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