21 Juin 2012
June 20, 2012
Big solar power plant to be built in Fukushima
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120621_05.html
Japanese electronics maker Toshiba will build several solar power stations in a city near the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Toshiba managing director Takeshi Yokota signed an agreement with the mayor of Minamisoma, Katsunobu Sakurai, on Wednesday.
Under the contract, the company will build the plants along the coast. The area is designated as a tsunami risk zone, where construction of new houses has been banned since last year's disaster.
The city plans to buy 1.5 million square meters of land and lease it to a venture set up by Toshiba for the project.
Construction will start in March and the plants will begin operating in 2014.
They will provide up to 100 megawatts of electricity---enough to meet the demands of 30,000 homes.
It will be the largest solar power plant project in Japan.
Minamisoma aims to end its dependence on nuclear power and eventually meet the power demands of all homes in the city with renewable energy.
Mayor Sakurai says the project will serve as encouragement to residents as they work toward that goal.