$57 million loan to fund the Renatosu Soma Solar Park

Japan is setting up a 53-megawatt solar powered station to be situated in northern Fukushima.  Four lending institutions will back up the project namely Mitsubishi UFJ, Sendai-based 77 Bank which will provide the highest amount of loan of $57 million and other two lenders according to PV Magazine.

To date, the proposed Fukushima 53 MW solar PV project will become the largest single solar installation in the region. The solar panels will be supplied by Suntech Power Japan Corp.  The project will be constructed on a former golf course and operation will start January of 2017.  

The regional 77 Bank announced that it will provide ¥6.8 billion for the loan. However, it was not revealed as to how the remaining amount will be divided among the remaining three lenders.

As per 77 Bank, the Soma power station in Fukushima Prefecture will be built in the wider area of Tohoku plain.  It was badly hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 that caused devastation to the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear facility and took the lives of thousands.

77 Bank also reassert a commitment to promoting "reconstruction and development of the local economy" and said it would in future be able "to respond flexibly and quickly" to the financial considerations of investing in renewable energy.

The Renatosu Soma Solar Park shall become the largest of its kind in Fukushima Prefecture that has focused its attentions to solar power.  The setting up of solar power plants is due to the great damage of the earthquake and tsunami in 2011, as reported by the PV Magazine.

The solar park is being developed in Soma City by a joint venture to be led by Kyudenko Corporation, a Japanese company with its principal shareholder, Kyushu Electric Power which is a southern Japanese utility.  It was reported in July that Marubeni Corporation, one of the biggest trading companies, is expected to be a module supplier to the project, as reported by PV Tech.