Total builds third solar plant in Japan

The 52MWp solar park in Miyagi prefecture is its biggest yet.

Total’s solar power unit, Total Solar International, started the construction of the 52MWp Miyagi Osato Solar Park, a large-scale plant in Osato, Miyagi prefecture, Japan. The project, which has achieved financial close, is expected to start up in 2021.

“The Miyagi Osato Solar Park is Total’s third and biggest solar plant in Japan, which will allow us to reach a cumulated capacity of over 100 MWp in the country”, said Julien Pouget, senior vice-president for renewables at Total.

The plant will be operated by Miyagi Osato Solar Park G.K., a special purpose company, majority-owned by Total Solar International (90%), alongside SB Energy Corp. (SB Energy) (10%), a Japanese subsidiary of SoftBank Group.

The launch the construction of Miyagi Osato Solar Park follows the beginning of the operation of two other large-scale solar plants of Total Solar International in Japan: Miyako Solar Park (25MWp, 2019) and Nanao Power Plant (27MWp, 2017).

Tom Heggarty, Wood Mackenzie senior analyst, commented, "Total is now active across the solar PV value chain. Its SunPower subsidiary manufactures PV modules with a focus on the distributed generation market. Additionally, Total is developing large-scale installations organically through Total Solar and its minority stake in Total Eren. This is a continuation of a trend among the European oil and gas Majors, with Shell, BP, Equinor, ENI and Repsol all now active participants in the global solar PV market."

"Although a declining market for large-scale solar (>1MW), Japan is expected to install close to 7GW of large-scale solar capacity in the next five years. There remains a considerable pipeline with attractive FIT rates that were awarded several years ago. Projects are difficult to execute and costs are high compared to other markets. However, the legacy awarded FIT projects of over US$200/MWh remain attractive for those that are able to take it to the finish line, especially with the backdrop of decreasing solar costs," added Rishab Shrestha, Wood Mackenzie analyst.