Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) has been awarded a contract by Thailand's Gunkul Engineering Public Co. Ltd. to construct a mega-solar power plant in Kimitsu, Chiba prefecture, Japan. The plant, scheduled to commence operation by March 2019*, will have a power generation capacity of roughly 33.5-megawatts. The contract has a total value of 9 billion yen.
The Kimitsu Mega-Solar Plant will be operated by a specific purpose company for the electricity business in Japan, financed by Gunkul . It will generate approximately 45 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, equivalent to the annual need of 10,000 households*1.
Under an engineering, procurement and construction contract, Toshiba will handle overall engineering, including basic design and the supply of major equipment, and the construction of the plant. Deliverables from Toshiba include 750-kW power conditioners developed by the Toshiba Group that achieve a power conversion efficiency of 98.6%*2, the industry's highest, and high-efficiency polycrystalline solar photovoltaic (PV) modules that produce large amounts of electricity at a low cost.
Drawing on rich experience and comprehensive capabilities encompassing business planning support, system design and construction, and operation & maintenance (O&M) for long-term stable operation, Toshiba will continue to expand its track record in utility-scale mega-solar farms, and push to increase market share through supply of highly efficient PV modules and power conditioners. A broad portfolio of power generation solutions, extending from solar power systems to nuclear power plants, supports Toshiba in addressing the diverse needs of electric power providers in Japan and overseas.
*1 Based on the total power consumption per household in Japan (4,432 kWh per year) in the Shouene Seinou Katarogu (Energy Efficiency Performance Catalog) published by the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan
*2 As of August 5, 2016
* Correction The plant operation start schedule was corrected from "in March 2018" to "by March 2019"
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