TotalEnergies starts up solar power plant in Japan

TotalEnergies has started up commercial operation of a 51-megawatt (MW) solar power plant located in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, Japan.

The plant, connected to the electricity distribution grid, will supply its electricity to Chubu Electric Power Miraiz Co. Inc., a subsidiary of the regional utility company, through a power purchase agreement over a 17-year period.

Built in 2 years, the Haze power plant is operated with nearly 100,000 high-efficiency solar panels, ensuring the highest performance in mitigated weather conditions. The supports and foundations of the solar panels are designed in consideration of earthquakes and typhoons, the company said in a statement.

The Haze power plant operates on a surface of nearly 77 hectares and will provide enough clean and reliable electricity to serve nearly 20,000 households.

“We are delighted of the successful start-up of Tsu Haze, our fourth large scale solar power plant in Japan, with our partners Suzuka Group and Tohoku Electric. This marks a new milestone in the deployment of our renewable energy activities in Japan. With more than 150 MW of cumulative capacity in operation, we are proud to contribute to the country's energy transition,” said Vincent Stoquart, Senior Vice-President Renewables at TotalEnergies.

The commercial operation of Haze Solar Power Plant follows:

27MW Nanao Solar Power Plant which is in operation since 2017

25MW Miyako Solar Power Plant which is in operation since 2019

52MW Osato Solar Power Plant which is in operation since 2021

As part of its ambition to get to net zero by 2050, TotalEnergies is building a portfolio of activities in electricity and renewables. At the end of 2022, TotalEnergies' gross renewable electricity generation installed capacity was 17 GW. TotalEnergies said it will continue to expand this business to reach 35 GW of gross production capacity from renewable sources and storage by 2025, and then 100 GW by 2030 with the objective of being among the world's top 5 producers of electricity from wind and solar energy.