Shimozuru solar plant starts generating power

Shimozuru Power Plant is officially online.

This was announced by Solar Frontier that equipped the plant with around 6,700 CIS thin-film modules.

These modules will help to generate an estimated 1,220 MWh of electricity a year which will be sold to the Kyushu Electric Power Company. Izumi Solar Project, a joint venture company established in July 2012, will be responsible for operating the plant.

The 1MW power plant, located in the city of Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture, covers an area of approximately 20,000 square metres in an environmentally sensitive area.

The project area is in in a region selected by Japan's Ministry of Environment as one of the “100 soundscapes of Japan” — a selection of environments providing aural experiences which are considered by the locals to be representative of their region and worth preserving for future generations. The area surrounding the plant is well known as a destination for 10,000 hooded and white-naped cranes which fly in from Siberia around October of each year.

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