Sharp to Build Mega Solar Plant in Evacuation Advisory Area

Fukushima, April 17 (Jiji Press)--Sharp Corp. <6753> said Thursday that it will build a 2,200-kilowatt mega solar power plant in the town of Tomioka, northeastern Japan, in an evacuation advisory area near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. Under an agreement signed with the town in Fukushima Prefecture, Sharp plans to begin construction in December and start operating the plant in June 2015. Other evacuation advisory areas where mega solar projects are going forward include the village of Iitate, also in the prefecture. Tomioka hopes that the mega solar project will help boost reconstruction efforts that have been ongoing since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami and subsequent nuclear accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Co. <9501> plant. It also expressed hope that the project will become a business model to attract other companies. The construction site is located in an industrial park, about 11 kilometers from the TEPCO plant, in an area where entry is permitted during the daytime and preparations to remove the evacuation advisory are made. Electricity to be generated from the plant will be sold to Tohoku Electric Power Co. <9506> for 20 years. Annual power output is expected to total about 2.39 million kilowatt-hours, enough for about 660 households. Based on the agreement, Sharp will pay site rents to the municipal government and contribute about 25 million yen to help reconstruction efforts. END