Kyocera TCL Solar Completes Two Floating Solar Power Plants In Japan

Kyocera Corporation and Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation announced that their joint venture, Kyocera TCL Solar, has completed construction of two floating solar power plants in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.

The 1.7 MW floating solar plant at Nishihira Pond and the 1.2 MW plant at Higashihira Pond were built using Kyocera modules fixed to specially developed floating platforms which are attached to the lake-beds. The power plants, inaugurated in late March, are expected to generate an estimated 3,300 MWh annually.

In a previous post we had looked into the benefits of floating solar power plants.

Given Japan’s geographical conditions, these floating platforms have been designed to withstand the typhoon conditions they may have to face. As per Kyocera, these platforms are made of high-density polyethylene which can withstand ultraviolet rays, resist corrosion, and are 100% recyclable.

The 1.7 MW installation at Nishihira Pond is possibly the largest floating solar power plant in the world. Not for long though. Kyocera has already announced it plans to build a much larger 13.4 MW floating solar power plant on the Yamakura Dam reservoir in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

Once installed, the plant will spread over a water surface area of 180,000² metres and deliver an estimated output of 15,635 MWh/year. The electricity generated at the solar plant will be sold to Tokyo Electric Power for an estimated ¥450 million/year ($3.78 million/year).

Kyocera says it has plans to start operation of 30 floating solar power plants across Japan during FY 2015–16.

Sometime back, Brazil also announced its intentions to come up with a huge 350 MW floating PV plant.

Floating PV systems have been gaining a lot of traction across several solar markets, those in the foray include Australia, India, Japan, Korea, and the US.