Mitsubishi Corporation

Press Room

September 3, 2012
Kumamoto Prefecture
Kikuyo Town
Mitsubishi Corporation
Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.

Mega Solar Project for Kumamoto’s Gateway Airport
Businesses in Kumamoto come together to establish mega solar power plant on the north side of Aso Kumamoto Airport

Kumamoto Prefecture, Kikuyo town, Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Research Institute have reached an agreement to build a mega solar power plant near Kumamoto Airport. The solar plant, to be located on the north side of Aso Kumamoto Airport, will produce some 2,000 kilowatts of power and is expected to be start operating during the course of this year.
 
The agreement to establish this project falls under the three-party “New Energy/Environmental Business Development Letter of Agreement” signed between Kumamoto Prefecture, Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Research Institute on April 6, 2010. This mega solar project, to be located in the town of Kikuyo, brings together the strengths of solar power businesses across the prefecture, and will follow the “local production for local consumption” pattern. The project will help to advance know-how in the solar power business and facilitate industrial development in the area. Given its location at “the gateway to Kumamoto”, Aso Kumamoto Airport, the plant will also serve as a showroom of solar power-related products in the prefecture.
 
The project will not only encourage the continued development of renewable energy sources as we strive towards building a low carbon society, but it will also contribute to further growth in related manufacturers in Kumamoto Prefecture. The contributions of the parties involved are outlined below.
・ Kumamoto Prefecture: Leasing the land space for the project and granting relevant approvals and licenses
・ Kikuyo Town:                  Granting relevant approvals and licenses
・ Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.:
                                             Setting up the special purpose company to construct and operate the solar power plant.
 
 
View from Airport
 
 
<<Reference Information>>
1.    Outline of Mega Solar Project
・ Project Implementing Agency: Special Purpose Company(Funding Breakdown: Mitsubishi Corporation, 95%; Mitsubishi Research Institute, 5%)
・ Location: 1280-1 Icho-Bata Totsugi Oaza Kikuyomachi, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto
・ Capacity: Approx. 2 Megawatt (approx. 2,000 kilowatts)
・ Area: Approx. 32,000m²
・ Planned Completion: During the 2012 Fiscal Year
 
2.    Outline of Kumamoto Prefecture
(1)      Prefectural Office: 6-18-1 Suizenji, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto, Japan
(2)      Number of Households: 698,876
(3)      Population: 1,807,053 *
(4)      Area: 7,404.73 km²
(5)      GDP of Prefecture: 5.6 trillion yen (Annual Prefectural Accounts 2008)
(6)      Rate of Solar Energy Use Per Household: 5.63% (2nd nationally as of 2010)
(7)      Number of Mega Solar Plants: 11; approx. 42 megawatts (including plants set up prior to introduction of Feed-in-Tariff)
(8)      Representative: Ikuo Kabashima, Governor
 
3.    Outline of Kikuyo Town
(1) Location of Town Office: 2800 Oaza Kubota, Kikuyo Town, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto, Japan
(2) Location of Town: About 15km Northeast of the center of Kumamoto City
(3) Number of Households: 14,965
(4) Population: 38,966*
(5) Area: 37.57 km²
(6) GDP of the Town: Approx. 204 billion yen (4th largest in Kumamoto prefecture) (Estimated Income as of 2009)
(7) Preliminary Budget for 2012: Approx. 20 billion yen
(8) Population Growth Rate Based on 2010 Census: 16.3% (4th highest in Japan, highest in prefecture) (2nd nationally among municipalities with a population of over 10,000)
(9) Representative: Mitsuo Goto, Mayor
* Population figures and number of households are calculated monthly on the basis of the 2010 National Census, updated monthly on the basis of reported births and deaths an in/out migration statistics.
 
4.    Outline of Mitsubishi Corporation
(1) Head Office: 2-3-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
(2) Established: April, 1950
(3) Capitalization: 204 billion yen
(4) Business Activities: MC has six Business Groups, which develop operations in diverse fields such as: Industrial Finance, Logistics & Development; Energy; Metals; Machinery; Chemicals; and Living Essentials. In addition to these Business Groups, MC has also recently established its Business Service Group and Global Environment & Infrastructure Business Development Group.
(5) Sales: JPY20,126 billion (consolidated, for year ended March 31, 2012)
(6) Employees: 63,058 (consolidated, for year ended March 31, 2012)
(7) Representative: Ken Kobayashi, President and CEO
 
5.    Outline of Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.
(8) Head Office: 2-10-3 Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
(9) Established: May, 1970
(10)Capitalization: 6.3 billion yen
(11)Business Activities: General think tank; business management; infrastructure development; educational, medical and social security projects; environmental and natural resource management; energy and information technology science; and safety and disaster prevention; think tank, consulting and business services that offer advice to private sector as well as national and local government entities.
(12)Sales: 7.25 billion yen (consolidated, for period ending September 9, 2011))
(13)Employees: 3,408 (consolidated, for period ending September 9, 2011)
(14)Representative: Kyota Omori, President
 

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Telephone:+81-3-3210-2171 / Facsimile:+81-3-5252-7705
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