This is claimed to be the world’s largest solar farm when completed.
The Yamakura Dam reservoir is managed by the Public Enterprises Agency of Chiba Prefecture in Japan to provide industrial water services.
The power plant, which is slated for completion in 2018, is expected to provide electricity to around 5,000 households when it becomes operational.
The project was started in October 2014, when the Public Enterprises Agency of Chiba Prefecture had publicly sought companies to build and operate a floating solar power plant in order to minimize environmental damages.
The plant will feature 51,000 Kyocera modules deployed over fresh water surface covering an area of 180,000m2.
The power plant is expected to generate 16,170 MWh per year, which would power up around 4,970 typical households.
It will help offset around 8,170 tons of carbon dioxide emission annually.
Kyocera has earlier constructed three floating solar farms. However, these farms are smaller in scale than the one being constructed.
Water firm United Utilities began work on a floating solar farm on a Greater Manchester reservoir in the UK. When the work is completed, this solar farm would be Europe’s largest.
Image: The plan of the 13.7MW floating solar plant on the Yamakura Dam reservoir. Photo: Courtesy of KYOCERA Corporation.
