A new solar power plant is now running in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The developer is Spain-based X-ELIO. The solar plant is called the Funaki solar facility. It is built on land that used to be a golf course in the city of Ube.
The plant has an installed capacity of 14 megawatts. Each year, it is expected to produce about 17,245 megawatt-hours of electricity. The electricity will be sold through a 20-year power purchase deal with Amazon.
X-ELIO says this new solar plant adds to its other projects in Japan. So far, the company has built about 393 megawatts of solar projects in Japan. X-ELIO also has more projects in the works. There are about 396 megawatts of solar and battery energy storage projects under planning or development.
The Funaki plant uses solar panels to produce power for homes and businesses. The old golf course area has now become a place to make renewable power instead of a sports field.
Japan continues to add more solar energy each year. Some smaller projects are also being done quietly in parts of Japan. For example, some farms in rural areas use small solar setups called agrivoltaics. These small systems can be less than 1 megawatt and help farmers run pumps or lights for greenhouses.
In Kagoshima, a small pilot project combines solar panels with fish farming ponds. The panels shade the ponds and make about 500 kilowatts of power. This helps fish farmers lower electricity costs.
Some small schools and community centers in mountain towns are also putting up rooftop solar. These are under 200 kilowatts but help local people cut electricity bills.
Battery energy storage is slowly growing too. In some places, small batteries are being tested. One small pilot in Hokkaido stores about 2 megawatt-hours. It supplies power when there is snow or heavy clouds.
