Mitsui Fudosan plans 23MW PV plant in Japan

Japanese property developer Mitsui Fudosan has unveiled plans to develop a 23MW solar power plant in Tomakomai city, Hokkaido in northern Japan.

Owned by Mitsui Real Estate, the plant will be built over 37 hectares of land with a construction schedule to begin in November. Although specific equipment requirements have not been revealed, the company has stated that the PV project will utilize modules which employ solar cells that have been manufactured in Japan.

When complete and operational — expected in 2013 — the plant will generate an output of 2,400kWh which, according to the company, is enough to power around 6,600 households. Electricity generated from the power plant will be sold to Hokkaido Electric Power Co.

Following the launch of the Japanese feed-in tariff in July, the country has seen a surge in PV activities, from domestic companies as well as international firms. Indeed, figures released by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed that 885MW of new PV capacity was installed in the country between April and September 2012.