22 February 2016

Solar Frontier, Development Bank of Japan and Taiyo Oil to co-develop 16.5MW project in Yamaguchi Prefecture

Tokyo-based Solar Frontier – the largest manufacturer of CIS (copper indium selenium) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solar modules – is collaborating with the government-owned Development Bank of Japan Inc (DBJ) and oil refining and distribution firm Taiyo Oil Co Ltd by establishing the joint company SDT Solar Power to develop and manage a 16.5MW solar power project in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.

DBJ (which provides integrated investment and loan services) is directly investing in the project utilizing its 'Special Investment Operations'. Established in 2015, this measure aims to contribute to regional economic revitalization and reinforce corporate competitiveness.  

Taiyo Oil Company will lease about 180,000m2 of its land for the project in addition to participating in managing the joint company. Established in 1941, Taiyo Oil Company is currently developing new businesses under its Medium-Term Management Plan, which includes solar energy.

Construction should last from this July to August 2017. The plant should be operational in 2017, after which Solar Frontier's specialist team will also provide operation & maintenance services.

Consisting of about 100,000 of Solar Frontier's modules, annual output is expected to be about 20,000,000 kilowatt-hours (equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 3880 average households in Japan), displacing about 10,500 tons per year of CO2 emissions. 

Tags: CIS thin-film PV modules

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