JUWI Shizen connects a 100 MW solar farm in Fukushima to the grid

JUWI Shizen Energy, a joint venture established in 2013 between German project developer JUWI and Japanese wind and solar farm developer Shizen Energy, has successfully connected the largest single project in its history to the Fukushima City power grid and has already handed it over to the operator.

Construction of the Azuma Kofuji Solar Park began in August 2020, and the first kilowatt-hour of clean electricity was fed into the grid in late September 2022. Annually, the solar park, which is spread over several sub-areas, will produce about 107 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, equivalent to the average consumption of about 31,000 Japanese homes.

JUWI Shizen’s biggest project

JUWI Shizen implemented the project as an EPC service provider. The largest project in the joint venture’s history brings the total volume of projects implemented since its inception in 2013 to 602 megawatts. Another 140 megawatts of solar capacity is currently under construction.

“We are very pleased to have completed and handed over the large-scale Azuma Kofuji project on schedule,” says Jan Warzecha, managing director of JUWI-Shizen Energy. “This underlines our high level of competence, professionalism and experience as a reliable EPC partner.”

The finalized plant covers an area of approximately 186 hectares, most of which is abandoned agricultural land. The construction of renewable energy plants on such abandoned farmland is encouraged by law in Japan. The solar park is located in Fukushima Prefecture, about 80 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. There, in March 2011, an earthquake and tsunami triggered core meltdowns in several reactor units, resulting in one of the largest nuclear disasters in history.