Not only has a Japanese power company completed a floating solar power generation plant on an agricultural pond outside Osaka, but it is already generating power for hundreds of surrounding households.  And there are plans for several more.

Osaka Gas Company’s subsidiary Energy Bank Japan employed a floating mounting system manufactured by France-based Ciel et Terre.  It is made of high-density polyethylene and highly resistant to ultraviolet light and corrosion.  The rig is carrying solar cells from Japanese technology giant Kyocera. 

With an output capacity of 850kW, the plant in Ono City, Hyogo Prefecture west of the Osaka-Kobe megalopolis is expected to generate 1,000,000kWh of electricity per year – the equivalent to the amount consumed by 275 households.  The companies say that output from the floating panels should be higher than from ground-mounted or rooftop panels thanks to the cooling effects of the water.

A second plant is planned on reservoir a few kilometers away.  Once it’s up and running by April 2015, they’ll form the world’s largest floating solar farm.

With land at a premium in Japan, power companies are always looking for solutions to the problems of space and Japan’s appetite for electricity.  Outside Nagoya in Tahara City, Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, a seven-company consortium just commenced operations of a solar/wind hybrid power plant.  It is expected to generate about 67,500MWh of electricity per year, sold through the regional power company.