Canadian Solar brings online 100-MW solar park in Japan's Fukushima

Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ:CSIQ) on Thursday announced it has achieved commercial operations at its 100-MWp Azuma Kofuji solar park in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture.

The photovoltaic (PV) modules manufacturer and solar project developer will sell the plant’s output to domestic utility Tohoku Electric Power Company. The latter will pay JPY 36 (USD 0.259/EUR 0.249) per kWh under an over 18-year contract signed under Japan's feed-in-tariff programme.

Located at a 460-acre (186-ha) site, the solar farm was installed mostly on repurposed land that was previously used for agricultural purposes. It is powered by Canadian Solar’s HiKu modules, seen to generate around 106,800 MWh of power annually, or enough to cover the consumption of around 31,000 local homes.

Realised with some JPY 24.5 billion in debt by Nomura Capital Investment Co, Azuma Kofuji is Canadian Solar’s largest project in Japan. The company said it will donate part of its electricity revenues to Fukushima City to promote activities in the agricultural sector.

According to Canadian Solar, Azuma Kofuji is currently the largest solar farm in Fukushima Prefecture. In Japan, the firm now has more than 470 MWp of utility-scale projects in operation or under construction, it said.

(JPY 100 = USD 0.720/EUR 0.691)

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