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KYOCERA TCL Solar Completes 21.1MW Solar Power Plant on Repurposed Land in Japan

Providing equivalent annual power supply for approx. 7,730 households

January 30, 2018
Kyocera Corporation (President: Hideo Tanimoto; herein “Kyocera,”) and Tokyo Century Corporation (President & CEO: Shunichi Asada; herein “Tokyo Century”) announced today that Kyocera TCL Solar LLC (herein “Kyocera TCL Solar”) has completed construction of a 21.1 megawatt (MW) utility-scale solar power plant in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. 78,144 Kyocera solar modules were installed on approximately 1km2 of land originally planned for the construction of an industrial waste disposal facility which was abandoned, then repurposed for the clean energy project. A ceremony was held on January 11 to commemorate completion of the plant, which will generate an estimated 23,000 megawatt hours (MWh) per year — enough electricity to power approximately 7,730 typical households*1.

Image: 21.1MW solar power plant in Hagi City   Image: commemoration ceremony

21.1MW solar power plant in Hagi City (left) and commemoration ceremony (right)

All electricity generated at the plant will be sold to the local utility (The Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc.). It is Kyocera TCL Solar’s second largest solar power plant following a 25MW plant in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto City which was built on an abandoned golf course.

Kyocera TCL Solar has developed 58 solar power plants in Japan with a total 166.9MW*2 of output since the company was established in August 2012. The plants feature Kyocera’s high-performance, high-reliability solar modules which provide exceptionally high annual energy yields in a wide range of environments, rated as a "Top PerformerExternal Link" across all test categories in DNV GL's PV Module Reliability Scorecard for three times in a row (certified in every Scorecard since 2014).

Furthermore, in order to utilize Japan’s abundant water surfaces, Kyocera TCL Solar has focused on installing floating solar power generation systems and has begun operation of five floating solar power plants in Japan. Construction of Japan’s largest*3 13.7MW floating solar power plant on a dam reservoir in Chiba Prefecture was completed with operation planned to begin in March 2018. Through projects like this, Kyocera TCL Solar, Tokyo Century and Kyocera will remain committed to promoting renewable energy as well as contributing to environmental protection and the creation of a sustainable society.

Project Overview
Location Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
Operation Kyocera TCL Solar LLC
Area Approx. 1km2
Joint planner/land proprietor Daiko Farm., Ltd. (Yoshikawa City, Saitama Prefecture)
Output Approx. 21.1MW
Expected annual power generation Approx. 23,000MWh
(enough electricity to power approximately 7,730 typical households)
Solar modules 270W Kyocera modules (78,144 modules in total)
Start of operation December 2, 2017 (Start of construction: March 2016)
Design & construction Yonden Engineering Company, Incorporated
Maintenance Kyocera Solar Corporation

Company Overview
Company name Kyocera TCL Solar LLC
Location Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Shareholders Tokyo Century Corporation (81%)
Kyocera Corporation (19%)
Established August 2012

*1 Based on average annual use of 2,973.6kWh per household. Source: Japan Atomic Energy Relations Organization (Graphical Flip-chart of Nuclear & Energy Related Topics)
*2 Total output of the plants in operation as of December 31, 2017
*3 Japan’s largest floating solar power plant in terms of output. Based on research by Kyocera TCL Solar LLC of projects currently in operation (as of December 31, 2017).