Japan to build 2 solar generation plants on waterfront

Japan, in agreement with Sharp, Kansai Electric Power Co and Sakai City are planning to construct 2 10MW-class solar power generation plants on the waterfront in Sakai City, Japan. The plants will be used to power several factories and according to city planners, Sakai is on point to become a one of the world’s premiere cities in the race to become more energy efficient and provide a stellar model of what a successful green city looks like. Japan has always had a history of conservation with its car designs.

Most Japanese cars and trucks trump American car gas mileage by a significant amount. Its no wonder they plan to go even further by developing solar technology to run factories off the grid. Sharp is planning to manufacture the solar cells on-site and it also plans to implement these cells in neighboring plants as well. BY 2010, the plants should be operational. It will be interesting to see just how much energy is actually saved by going solar.

I can’t wait to see the statistics on these plants and see just how much less of a carbon footprint it leaves because of the switch to solar. Sharp claims that the plants will reduce carbon emissions by 10,000 tons per year. Now that is a real savings and one worth mentioning here.

I hope that it is a success and that other companies and countries will rise up, take notice, and implement other alternatives to coal, oil, and gas to power their facilities. Solar panel technology has come a long way since its inception and can power a cellphone or even heat your swimming pool at a significant savings.

Via: Crunch Gear