Solar Frontier K.K. announced that it has reached a basic agreement with the Development Bank of Japan Inc. (DBJ) for the establishment of a joint investment company that will provide funding for utility-scale solar power plants. The joint investment company will begin operating in February 2013 and will initially target investments in projects totaling 100 megawatts a year. The joint investment company will become an independent power producer (IPP) and will invest in utility-scale solar projects throughout Japan. Solar Frontier will contribute 60% of the capital while DBJ will contribute the remaining 40%. The company will not only invest in large-scale projects, but a wide range of projects, including those that have a suitable land plot to develop but have not progressed in terms of finding power producers or financing sources, as well as those less than 2 megawatts, which are generally difficult to source project finance. By providing integrated processes along the value chain from financing to construction and IPP operations, the company will be able to respond speedily to the demand for utility-scale projects in the Japanese market. The company will also be more competitive in the downstream business by using a new business model to sell already up-and-running projects to IPPs and investors. While adding value in the downstream area of solar projects, Solar Frontier will be able to support a wide range of customers looking to enter the IPP business by accumulating knowhow from the development and operation of IPP projects.

Solar Frontier K.K. has received orders from Mitsui & Co. Ltd., and its partners for 92,000 CIS thin-film modules for use in utility-scale solar projects throughout Japan. Totaling 14.1 MW, these CIS modules will be installed in four projects, starting with Yamanashi Mega-Solar (provisional name) in Kai City and Nirasaki City, Yamanashi Prefecture (total: 10.3 MW). Mitsui and its partners have announced plans to invest ¥9 billion in the operation of utility-scale solar projects across 10 locations in Japan during fiscal 2013, including at least four projects using Solar Frontier modules. Panel delivery for one of the projects began in early November, and delivery for the two projects in Yamanashi Prefecture is scheduled to start soon. Solar Frontier and Mitsui are also discussing other solar projects where Solar Frontier’s high-performing CIS modules will be used. Solar Frontier CIS modules are being selected by customers worldwide for their better project economics under real-world conditions. Due to their proprietary design, they are not as prone to adverse effects from shadows or high temperatures, resulting in a faster investment payback time over silicon-based solar panels.

Solar Frontier K.K. and Yano Industry Co., Ltd. have agreed to develop two megawatt-scale solar power plants in Kunitomi, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. Utilizing Solar Frontier’s high yield, fast payback CIS thin-film modules, Solar Frontier will operate a 2.2 MW solar power plant (Kunitomi No.1 Megasolar) and Yano Industry will operate a 1.1 MW plant (Kunitomi No. 2 Megasolar). This marks the expansion of both Solar Frontier and Yano Industry into the solar utility business following the implementation of renewable energy feed-in tariffs in Japan in July. Combined, these projects will total 3.3 MW and will be jointly developed on 7 hectares of land owned by Yano Industry in Oaza Kiwaki, Kunitomi Town. In addition to its high kWh-efficiency CIS modules, Solar Frontier will also provide project development consulting services for Kunitomi No. 2 Megasolar. Kunitomi No. 1 Megasolar, which will be operated by Solar Frontier, will be equipped with roughly 14,000 Solar Frontier solar panels on land rented from Yano Industry. Kunitomi No.2 Megasolar will be operated by Yano Industry and will use around 7,000 Solar Frontier modules on land owned by Yano Industry. Solar Frontier will also provide project development consulting services for system design and such for the No. 2 plant. Kunitomi No. 2 Megasolar will generate power equivalent to 16% of the annual electricity needed to run Yano Industry’s Tano and Hyuga factories, part of the company’s goal of generating renewable energy equivalent to a significant proportion of the power it consumes. Solar Frontier will leverage the knowhow it has gained from installations around the world to design the installation and the two companies plan to begin selling power from the plants by the end of March, 2013, at the latest.