Orix works on 170.5 MW of solar projects in Japan

Jul 1, 2013 - Japanese financial services provider Orix Corp (TYO:8591) said Friday it was installing over 170.5 MW of solar capacity in Japan.

The photovoltaic (PV) plants are located at 77 sites across Japan, the group said. The 170 MW of solar capacity consist of 28 large-scale installations with a total capacity of 143.2 MW. Among them are a 21-MW and a 18.2-MW photovoltaic (PV) park in Hokkaido, planned to be operational by end-2014, and a 11.7-MW plant in Fukuoka, to be switched on in June 2015.

Orix is also developing 49 rooftop projects with a combined capacity of 27.2 MW. Together, the 77 solar plants are estimated to generate 185.66 million kWh of electricity a year, enough to supply about 51,570 homes.

Orix said it intends to install 400 MW of solar projectsby March 2016. Its plan involves the construction of 300 MW of mega-solar facilities and 100 MW of rooftop systems. The company is taking advantage of opportunities on the Japanese solar market, presented after the government launched ample feed-in tariffs for renewables in July 2012 after the Fukushima accident.

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