Solar on Agricultural Reservoir: Project in Kasai, Hyogo

Kasai city of Hyogo prefecture announced on 12th that it would embark on solar power generation on agricultural pond from the fiscal year 2014.

The current plan is to install 4,000 panels on a pond of 1.2 hectares.

There are about 43 thousand reservoirs in Hyogo prefecture.

Of them one thousand are located in the city.

Yomiuri: 2013/09/13
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/hyogo/news/20130912-OYT8T01560.htm

Overseas Study Fund by School Solar in Nakatsugawa, Gifu

The alumni association of Nakatsu Highschool installed solar panels in a municipally owned land in Nakatsugawa city of Gifu prefecture.

The output capacity of the facility has not been publicized.
The annual generation is 49 thousand kWh, which is estimated to make a revenue of two million JPY a year by the Feed-in-Tariff.

The association has managed the fund depending on donations from the alumni members.

Chunichi Shimbun: 2013/09/14
http://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/gifu/20130914/CK2013091402000006.html

Saitama City to Introduce Solar and Battery to 152 Schools

Saitama city is going to install solar panels with secondary battery at 152 municipal schools in the city.

The output capacity will be 2.5 MW in total.

The generated electricity will be used for in-school consumption.
In an emergency case, the schools function as local shelters with independent power source.
A surplus of the electricity will be sold to Tokyo Electric Power.

A joint business unit of Sony Business Solution and other companies made a successful bid for the project.
The investment is about 2.9 billion JPY.

SmartJapan: 2013/09/13 11:00
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/smartjapan/articles/1309/13/news026.html

"Solar Jyoshi" Who Annulled Contract with Tokyo Electric Power

A woman is writing on her life without grid electricity on her blog "Solar Jyoshi (Girl or Woman)." And she is getting into the news in Japan.

Chikako Fujii, artist of textile dyeing in Kunitachi city, annulled her contract with Tokyo Electric Power in September 2012.
That made her "off-grid" in the west suburb of Tokyo Metropolitan.

It was almost a year before this, in August 2011, that Fujii had started power generation by herself with a small solar panel attached to the handrail of her studio.

She had experienced the scheduled power outage caused by the Earthquake and the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. She had just wanted a solar panel in case of an emergency.

Now Fujii utilizes a steam iron with charcoal, a charge-by-hand radio, a solar cooker, solar-powered lights, as well as conventional lanterns.

In June she introduced a generator by human power, which makes electricity of 60 W per hour.
It enabled her to use a washing machine again.

She still uses city gas, but it is only for bathing and heating in winter.
According to the solar woman, the average of her electricity consumption is 300 Wh per day.

alterna: 2013/9/6 11:57
http://www.alterna.co.jp/11619

Tamagawa Holdings to Build 4.0 MW Solar in Kyotango, Kyoto

Tamagawa Holdings is going to build its sixth megasolar station in Kyotango city of Kyoto prefecture.

The D/C output capacity of the station will be 4.0 MW (A/C 3.35 MW).

The company plans to split the station into two parts of less than 2.0 MW each because an over-2MW station needs to install facilities for extra high voltage and eventually increase the investment.

A subsidiary of the company will take a 21-year lease of a land of 47 thousand square meters, which is owned by the Tango Textile Industry Association.

The investment will be 1.2 billion JPY.
The annual revenue is estimated to be 170 million JPY.

SmartJapan: 2013/09/10 07:00
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/smartjapan/articles/1309/10/news030.html
Tamagawa Holdings (in English)
http://www.tmex.co.jp/english/index.html

Niigata Smart Community Enterprise to Build Three Megasolars in Joetsu Area

Niigata Smart Community Enterprise is going to build three megasolars in Joetsu and Myoko cities of Niigata prefecture.

The prefectural government of Niigata will partially finance the projects.

In Joetsu city, two solar facilities of 2 MW and 1.2 MW scale are under consideration.
As for in Myoko city, a 1.0 MW solar will be installed.

Joetsu Town Journal: 2013/09/12
http://www.joetsutj.com/archives/52049886.html

Tohoku Solar Power's 1.4MW Solar Started Operation in Kuji, Iwate

Tohoku Solar Power, a subsidiary of Tohoku Electric Power, started the operation of its 1.4 MW solar in Kuji city of Iwate prefecture. The generated electricity will be sold to the mother company.

9,240 panels were installed in an area of 3.5 hectares.

Tohoku Solar Power is also advancing its megasolar projects in Aomori and Miyagi prefectures.

Iwate Nippou: 2013/09/12
http://www.iwate-np.co.jp/cgi-bin/topnews.cgi?20130912_11
Denki Shimbun: 2013/09/13
http://www.shimbun.denki.or.jp/news/energy/20130913_03.html

Hitachi Zosen Started Operation of 1.5 MW Solar in In'noshima Island, Hiroshima

The shipbuilder Hitachi Zosen started the operation of its 1.5 MW solar station in In'noshima island in Onomichi city of Hiroshima prefecture.

It has also started selling the generated electricity to Chugoku Electric Power.

10 thousand photovoltaic panels were installed in an idle land of the company's old factory.
The investment was about 460 million JPY.

Another megasolar project in the same island which is conducted by Naikai Zosen, an affiliated company of Hitachi Zosen, will start the construction of 1.2 MW station this month and will complete it at the end of this year.

Response: 2013/9/12 09:30
http://response.jp/article/2013/09/12/206204.html
SmartJapan: 2013/09/12 07:00
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/smartjapan/articles/1309/12/news029.html

JR Kaihin-Makuhari Station to be Reborn as "Eco-Station"

JR East Chiba Branch is going to open on 13th renovated Kaihin-Makuhari station on the Keiyo line as well as a new commercial facility adjacent to the station.

The station has wind turbines and solar panels. Also, so-called "solar ray ducts" and air conditioning system utilizing underground heat pump were installed. JR East intends to reduce CO2 emission by 20 percent as compared to the old station before renovation.

This is the third example of the company's project "Eco Sute," or Ecological Station, after Yotsuya station on the Yamanote line and Hiraizumi station on the Tohoku Honsen line.

ChibaTopi: 2013/09/12 11:12
http://www.chibanippo.co.jp/c/news/economics/155873

Hiroshima City to Lease Roofs of Five Facilities for Solar

Hiroshima city is going to lease the roofs of five municipal facilities for solar power generation by private companies in the city.

Each facility has a space enough for 10 kW solar panels.
The lease period is 20 years.

Potential applicants will have to attend the briefing by the city to be held between September 27th and October 1st. Also, they have to have past experiences in solar generation of over 10 kW.

Chugoku Shimbun: 2013/09/13
http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/News/Tn201309130027.html

NARO and Hokuriku Seiki Developed Open-type Microhydro

National Aguriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) announced on 10th that it had developed an open-type microhydro power generator in cooperation with Hokuriku Seiki in Uozu city of Toyama prefecture.

By adjusting the covers attached to the water wheel, the generator can make water elevation as high as possible between the upstream and the downstream.

If the width of a channel is 0.9 meters and its slope one five hundredth, it can generate 465 W electricity at maximum.

According to NARO, the new product will reduce generating cost by 25 to 30 percent as compared with engine generator.

Nikkan Kogyo: 2013/09/11
http://www.nikkan.co.jp/news/nkx0520130911caae.html
NARO (in English)
http://www.naro.affrc.go.jp/english/index.html
Hokuriku Seiki (in Japanese)
http://www.s-hokuriku.com/

Sendai City to Build 199 kW Mini-hydro at Dam Facility

Sendai city of Miyagi prefecture is going to install a 199kW mini-hydro station at Kamafusa Dam.

The station utilizes the elevation difference of 18.6 meters between the dam and its grit chamber facility.

The investment will be 260 million JPY.

Toshiba was recently settled as the business conductor. 

All the generated electricity is to be sold to Tohoku Electric Power for 20 years.
It is estimated that the city will earn 2.7 million JPY per year for the land lease.

Kahoku Shimpo 2013/09/11
http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2013/09/20130911t12028.htm

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding to Embark on Biomas Power Plant in Europe

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding is going to embark on biomas power generation in Europe, utilizing building scrap wood, livestock manure, etc.

The total investment will be 2.4 billion JPY.

The company's subsidiary in Denmark will found a joint company with a pention fund in the country to build a 40 MW power station in Lincolnshire county of England.

Nikkei: 2013/9/7 2:00
http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASDD3100P_W3A900C1MM8000/

Kasumigaura City to Reduce Solar Property Tax by Half

Kasumigaura city of Ibaraki prefecture is going to submit a regulation proposal to the city council on reducing property tax of solar facilities by half.

This is to promote construction of solar facilities in the city.

The target facilities are those of output capacity of more than 10 kW which have already concluded contract with power company about selling the generated electricity.

Residential solar facilities and those on leased roofs are to be excluded.

Ibaraki Shimbun: 2013/09/06
http://ibarakinews.jp/news/news.php?f_jun=13783900270125

Highschool Solar for Scholarship Fund in Matsuzaka, Mie

Mie Highschool in Matsuzaka city of Mie prefecture completed the installation of 160 solar panels on its roof. The output capacity is 30.4 kW.

The school will start selling the electricity on 11th, and the revenue of around 1.2 million JPY per year is going to finance the scholarships to be organized from next school year.

The alumni association of Mie Highschool and Junior High funded 1,300 JPY for the project in commemoration of the schools' 50th anniversary.

Asahi 2013/9/8 0:36
http://www.asahi.com/edu/articles/NGY201309070024.html

Super Hotel Started Operation of 2.0 MW Solar in Iga, Mie

The hotel chain Super Hotel completed the construction and started the operation of its 2.0 MW solar station in Iga city of Mie prefecture.

The project was approved by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy as one of 20 projects of "Model Enterprises for Community Revitalization by Renewable Energy" in the fiscal year 2012.
And research expenses to build the station were financed by the agency.

DreamNews 2013/09/09 10:00
http://www.dreamnews.jp/press/0000080423/
Agency for Natural Resources and Energy "Model Enterprises for Community Revitalization by Renewable Energy"
http://www.mri.co.jp/NEWS/press/2012/nr20121003_h24ne3.pdf

METI to Redefine Specified Electricity Supply by the End of 2013

Denki Shimbun reported that METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) would admit the so-called "specified supply" of electricity utilizing secondary battery and fuel cell.

By redefining the judgement rules, the minstry will allow suppliers to sell electricity from those appliances.

Even if a business entity doesn't have a power source by itself, it will be able to sell electricity by concluding a contract with other supplier(s).

Suppliers have criticized the current criteria, saying they are a bit ambiguous on this point.

The Denki Shimbun: 2013/09/09
http://www.shimbun.denki.or.jp/news/main/20130909_01.html

Orix and Kyudenko to Build 11.72 MW Solar in Omuta, Fukuoka

K Clean Energy, a special purpose company founded by Orix and Kyudenko, is going to build a 11.72 MW solar in Omuta city of Fukuoka prefecture.

The two companies recently concluded a lease contract with Nippon Coke & Engineering over Nippon Coke's land of over 170 thousand square meters. The lease period is 20 years.

They aim at the operation start in January 2015.
All the generated electricity will be sold to Kyusyu Electric Power at 42 JPY per kWh.

SmartJapan: 2013/09/09 7:00
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/smartjapan/articles/1309/09/news024.html