Local electric construction company's underlying strength seen in Matsusaka's 12MW project;
Overcome the handicap of local companies, and handle everything from development to EPC and O&M
In the mountains of Matsuzaka City, Mie Prefecture, there is a mega-solar (large-scale solar power plant) with an interconnected output of 12 MW and a solar panel output of about 15.5 MW, "Power Plant Matsusaka Shomachi" (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 "Power Plant Matsuzakashocho"
(Source: Succeed Matsuzakashomachi)
It is developed and operated by Suzuka (Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture), an electrical construction company based in the same prefecture. Electricity sales started in January 2019. The power producer is Succeed Matsuzakashocho, a special purpose company (SPC). Suzuka has a 50% stake in this SPC.
In 1998, Chairman Yasuhiro Seko established a company in Suzuka, which was the predecessor of the company, and has been involved in electrical work and inspections. Initially, the company had strengths in electrical installation work for large facilities and public sectors, and with the start of the feed-in tariff system (FIT), it entered the photovoltaic power generation field in earnest.
In the field of photovoltaic power generation, we are fumbling around in our hometown of Mie Prefecture to develop the power generation business, and we are able to handle everything from EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) to O&M (operation and maintenance) services within the group. organized.
In addition to electrical and mechanical equipment where we can make use of our accumulated knowledge, we will appoint new personnel with knowledge and experience in new fields such as design, civil engineering, real estate development and operation, asset management, and financing. At the same time, a specialized company was established to expand functions within the group.
According to Chairman Seko, solar power generation-related initiatives seem to have had the great advantage of changing business mindsets and expanding the scope of business.
The first project we worked on started with a joint investment by several local electric companies.
However, while they were accustomed to subcontracting outsourced work, some companies were cautious about the business model of taking risks themselves, investing from the standpoint of project developers, and eventually gave up on participating.
For Suzuka, this was the first time for him to borrow from a financial institution or make an investment, and he said that there were some difficulties. look back.
When incorporating into the Suzuka Group functions in fields that the company did not have, for example, people with experience in real estate can be hired locally to some extent. But that is not the case for the right people in finance and asset management.
So there was a time when Chairman Seko moved his residence to Tokyo. By living in Tokyo, I have the opportunity to expand my financial connections, invite people who are qualified for fund procurement and asset management, and deepen exchanges with those responsible for executing large-scale projects. It seems that it was a valuable experience.
