Japan will now have the world’s largest floating solar farm

Since the Fukushima incident in 2011, Japan’s nuclear power plants have been shut down, leaving Japan to import energy for the past few years.

The eternal wait to restart operations has become too expensive to continue. Tech firm Kyocera has taken the responsibility to confront this problem head-on by leaning on renewable energy solutions.

Kyocera is focused on taking advantage of ‘wasted space’ in order to meet the country’s energy needs.

Teamed up with Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation, Kyocera has planned to take power to the water since Japan has a hilly landscape and populated terrain across the country.

The Yamakura dam power plant will be the bedrock for what is claimed will be the largest floating solar farm in the world in regards to energy.

Made up with 51,000 solar panels, the solar farm will be the source of energy for 5,000 homes every year by 2018.

Though this is not the first time Kyocera has implemented floating solar farms, this project will surpass the previous one by using five times the amount of solar panels that will cover a 180,000 sq meter  area.

Once the solar farm is functioning, it will generate 16,170 Mwh per year, which will relieve Japan’s consumption of 19,000 barrels of oil.

Locating the solar panels above the water will have other perks, as the shadow could reduce evaporation during the hot season and potentially reduce algae growth. Plus, it is believed the water’s cooling effect will increase the solar panels efficiency by 10%.

If the results come out to be what is expected, more floating solar farms will come into play for Japan.