A mega-solar (large-scale solar power plant) with an interconnected output of 35 MW and a solar panel output of about 51 MW, “Power Plant Tsunaze,” will open in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, in an area of forests and countryside, in 2023. Electricity sales began in February 2016 (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 ● Power plant Tsunaze
(Source: Succeed Tsunase)
It will be a joint project by the Suzuka Group (Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture), which is based on Total Energies of France, one of the oil majors (international oil capitals), Tohoku Electric Power, and a local electric equipment construction company in Mie Prefecture.
The business entity will be Succeed Tsunase (Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture), a special purpose company (SPC) in which these three companies have invested.
This is a project with a deadline for starting operation based on the feed-in tariff (FIT) system, and according to Total Energies' announcement, the power selling period is about 17 years.
This is one of the power generation projects led by the local Suzuka Group from the beginning (related column). The Suzuka Group has not only invested in the SPC, but also been involved from the initial stages of project development, such as arranging the site and applying for development permits. He is also the owner of part of the land.
In addition, I am also in charge of asset management and O&M (operation and maintenance). I was also in charge of the construction of a private line with a total length of about 16 km to the interconnection point.
A joint investor, Total Energies, is also actively working on renewable energy. With the ambitious goal of reducing CO2 emissions to net zero by 2050, it is developing and operating renewable energy power plants around the world.
The total output of the company's renewable energy power plants will reach approximately 17GW by the end of 2022. By 2025, the total output of renewable energy generation and storage batteries will be about 35 GW, and by 2030, it will aim for 100 GW. This was the fourth large-scale project in Japan (related column: approximately 51.6 MW in Osato Town, Miyagi Prefecture, Figure 2).
Figure 2 ● Fourth large-scale project in Japan
(Source: Total Energies)
In addition, Tohoku Electric Power participated in the Tsunase project, which was a project by Total Energies and the Suzuka Group, after construction began (related news). According to the company's announcement, it is the first time for the company to participate in a renewable energy power generation project outside of the six Tohoku prefectures and Niigata Prefecture. It will be a valuable opportunity to utilize the knowledge of the electric power industry so far in regions other than Tohoku and Niigata.
Tohoku Electric Power aims to develop renewable energy power plants of approximately 2 million kW (2 GW) mainly in Tohoku and Niigata.
Similarly, Tohoku Electric Power and Total Energies jointly invested in a solar power generation project in Osato Town, Miyagi Prefecture with an interconnected output of 37.5 MW and a solar panel output of about 51.6 MW. Here too, Tohoku Electric Power later joins the project that Total Energies and SB Energy have been working on (related news).
