In an innovative move that benefits both farmers and solar, Kyocera announced that it will be supplying solar for installations that spread across 80 farms in Japan.
The $90 million deal will site 30 megawatts (MW) of solar (124,000 panels) on farms to further spread renewable energy use while providing revenue to farmers and small farming towns.
Kyocera will build and maintain the installations which are being implemented by the National Federation of Agriculture Cooperative Associations (Zen-Noh) and Mitsubishi Corp.
The solar systems will go on Zen-Noh facilities – they’ll top livestock barns, distribution centers and parking lots, for example, across Japan.
This installation is on Zen-Noh’s logistics building:
By the end of 2015, that will grow to 200 MW, one of the biggest solar projects in Japan.
Through a joint venture – JAMC Solar Energy Company – Mitsubishi and Kyocera will operate the operate the project and sell the power under Japan’s feed-in law to regional utilities.
Kyocera no longer simply produces solar panels, it installs and operates large-scale solar projects. The company says it was chosen for the project because of its ability to install many solar systems quickly on agricultural facilities that have various roof shapes, in addition to its high quality modules.
Kyocera’s 70 MW solar park in Japan literally juts out into Kagoshima Bay.