Your average solar farm won’t get very far if the task at hand is to change the way in which energy is generated for 50 million Japanese households – here, you have to think big. That’s why the Hosoe solar project in Japan, planned to be in service by 2018 and equipped with GE Power Conversion technology, will be anything but average.
Located on Kyushu Island, the 96.2-megawatt (DC) photovoltaic solar plant is set to be one of the largest in Japan, and is expected to generate clean energy for up to 30,000 households, delivering annual CO2 emission savings of 68,200 tons. To enable this operation with enhanced efficiency, the developer of the project, Pacifico Energy K.K., selected GE Power Conversion to supply its Brilliance inverters for the mega solar project.
50 of GE Power Conversion’s 1.26 MW Brilliance solar inverters meet the customer’s requirements for both reliability and cost competitiveness. Along with the inverters, GE is also supplying transformers, Ring Main Units and Recombiners, all of which are to be preassembled and optimized for flawless integration.
GE Power Conversion’s involvement with the project does not stop with the delivery of the equipment. In also providing a 20-year LTSA (Long Term Services Agreement) which includes an availability guarantee on the inverter equipment, GE is helping to ensure the performance of the plant is maintained throughout the life of the project.
The Hosoe project has also received support from GE Energy Financial Services, which invested equity in the project in March. GE Energy Financial Services has previously invested in two other Pacifico Energy projects in Japan – Kumeana and Mimasaka Musashi – to help the country meet its target to generate 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
“The fact that we can harness solar energy on a mass scale goes to show how far innovation has come in recent years, and this venture with Pacifico is one of many that we will be seeing in Japan and across the world,” said John Chatwin, Power & Industry Segment Leader, GE Power Conversion. “GE is dedicated to enabling renewable energy production because we know that these projects are shaping the future energy landscape.”
