Official start of environmental contribution project –“Osaka Hikari-no-Mori Project” – on Yumeshima, Osaka

Osaka Shinkin Bank (head office: Tennoji-ku, Osaka; President: Seiji Hino), Jupiter Telecommunications Co., Ltd. (head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Shuichi Mori), Sumitomo Corporation (head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Kuniharu Nakamura), Sumitomo Warehouse Co., Ltd. (head office: Nishi-ku, Osaka; President: Shoichi Abe), Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (head office: Chuo-ku, Osaka; president & CEO: Masayoshi Matsumoto), Daihen Corporation (head office: Yodogawa-ku, Osaka; President: Tetsuya Tajiri), Hitachi Zosen Corporation (head office: Suminoe-ku, Osaka; President & COO: Takashi Tanisho), Rengo Co., Ltd. (head office: Kita-ku, Osaka; President & CEO: Kiyoshi Otsubo), and NTT Facilities, Inc. (head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Kiyoshi Tsutsui) have completed construction work for an environmental contribution project centered around a mega-solar power generation plant known as the “Osaka Hikari-no-Mori Project” (hereinafter, “the Project”) which began in November 2012, and have at last launched the Project.

On Wednesday, November 13, representatives of these companies and of the Osaka municipal government will gather in Osaka for a “project oath-taking ceremony” to commemorate the kick-off for the local contribution, environmental education and research activities planned as part of the Project.

The “Osaka Hikari-no-Mori Project” is a corporate participation-based environmental contribution project initiated to make effective use of the Hokko Landfill Site on Yumeshima in Osaka’s Konohana-ku through public-private collaboration. Adoption of an SGS (Solar-power Group Share) scheme enabled the participation of numerous companies who support the Project’s concept, and the Project is expected to expand as a community-wide effort. Seven companies―Jupiter Telecommunications Co., Ltd., Sumitomo Corporation, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Daihen Corporation, Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Rengo Co., Ltd., and NTT Facilities, Inc.―were involved at the outset of planning, and were later joined by Sumitomo Warehouse Co., Ltd. and Osaka Shinkin Bank to make this a nine-company endeavor.

The Hokko Landfill Site serving as the installation location for the mega-solar plant is a landfill disposal site for incinerated ash from general and other waste and, as such, long-term ordinary land use will be restricted even after completion of the landfill. The Project was founded on the concept of multiple companies coming together to create a “Hikari-no-Mori” (Forest of Light), similar to the way individuals would plant one tree each to create a forest. , The part of the Hokko area which is completed will be effectively utilized as the large-scale megasolar project site which will contribute to the area’s environmental improvement. The renewable electricity generated, eligible for the feed-in-tariff (FIT) will support the day-to-day lives and economic activities of the local community via Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.

Through the “Osaka Hikari-no-Mori Project,” the participating companies seek to help conserve the global environment, promote renewable energy generation in urban areas, and contribute to environmental education that passes on the principles of sustainable communities to the next generation.

● Overview of the “Osaka Hikari-no-Mori Project”

Multiple companies will bring funding and know-how to the Project, utilizing leases to share the costs of installing the mega-solar facility, and they will receive earnings from the sale of the generated electricity to the local electric power company in proportion to their shares of the costs. The installation site has been provided by the Osaka municipal government and a new scheme (SGS) of public-private collaboration has been adopted.

As the Project is situated at a waste disposal site, it is subjected to many restrictions, so the participating companies have implemented a wide range of additional measures to ensure stable operation over the long term. Nevertheless, construction, maintenance and management costs are relatively higher,, so the Project is being pursued through collaboration between the national and local governments and private companies in the form of interest subsidies for Comprehensive Special Zone projects from the Cabinet Office and local tax incentives from Osaka City.

• ● Reference
  Project site

  

• Location