With all but one of its nuclear power plants offline, Japan is looking for cleaner and greener ways to produce electricity that won’t explode in the case of a natural disaster. Kyocera Corporation, IHI Corporation, and Mizuho Corporate Bank have reached a basic agreement in that regard, planning to build a 70-MW solar power plant in the country’s southern region.

The plant is supposed to revitalize the local area in Kagoshima City (of Kagoshima Province), and in addition to the three companies forming the basic agreement, it has the support and cooperation of the Kagoshima prefectural and municipal governments.

27 Baseball Stadiums

The plant will be built on 314 acres of land owned by IHI (enough to build 27 baseball stadiums) using 290,000 Kyocera multicrystalline solar modules. It is now the largest officially announced solar power plant in Japan, and is supposed to make enough electricity for 22,000 average (Japanese) households. Current calculations estimate that it will offset 25,000 tons of carbon emissions each year.

The solar power project is supposed to make use of each company’s distinctive strengths — Kyocera has had over 3 decades in the solar power industry, IHI promotes renewable power, and Mizuho has been fairly successful at the whole banking and finance thing. While their powers combined don’t quite make Captain Planet, a massive solar array in Kagoshima is a much more useful way to resolve power supply issues caused by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake.

The Basic Numbers

Project name: Kagoshima Nanatsujima Mega-Solar Power Plant (tentative name)

Participating companies: Kyocera Corporation; IHI Corporation; Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd.

Supporting companies: KDDI Corporation; Kyudenko Corporation; Kagoshima Bank, Ltd.; Takenaka Corporation

Power output: 70MW (largest in Japan, as of April 9, 2012; based on officially announced projects)
The power generated is envisioned to be purchased by Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. in line with the Japanese Bill on Special Measures Concerning Procurement of Renewable Energy Sourced Electricity by Electric Utilities.

Location: 2 Nanatsujima, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan

Area: 314 acres

Total investment: 25 billion yen

Project timeline: July 2012 – Start of construction