A floating solar mega-power plant, with the largest production capacity of its type in Japan, started operating March 5.
"[Floating solar power plants] operate at lower temperatures than conventional solar power plants, so they are more efficient," K Srinivas Reddy, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Chennai, India, tells The National.
Constructed on the Yamakura Dam in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, the plant is projected to generate an estimated 16,170 megawatt hours [MWh] per year - enough electricity to power approximately 4,970 typical households - while offsetting about 8,170 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, the company that developed the plant says.
The plant has been built by Tokyo-based Kyocera TCL Solar, a joint venture between Kyocera Corporation and financial services company Tokyo Century Corporation, which provided the financing.
Based in the city of Kyoto, Japan's ancient former capital, Kyocera Corporation manufactures industrial ceramics, solar power generating systems, telecommunications equipment, office document imaging equipment, electronic components, semiconductor packages, cutting tools, and components for medical and dental implant systems.
The plant uses the Hydrelio floating solar technology developed by France-based Ciel et Terre, which has been developing large-scale solar power plants since 2006. The company launched its Hydrelio system in 2011, and that market became its sole focus two years later.
Hydrelio floating platforms provide the support structures for solar panels that are installed on large water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs, canals and ponds.
The Yamakura Dam reservoir, on which the Japanese plant has been built, provides industrial-use water to companies in the Keiyo Rinkai Industrial Zone on the north-eastern coast of Tokyo Bay that covers eight cities in Chiba Prefecture. The dam is sourced by the Yoro River and is the first reservoir for industrial water services in the prefecture, managed by the Chiba Prefectural Waterworks Bureau.
Like the US with its 50 states, Japan is divided into 47 prefectures. The capital, Tokyo, is itself not a city but a prefecture.
Built on 18 hectares, or approximately one-third of the Yamakura Dam reservoir surface, and 1.5 hectares on land, the plant has 50,904 solar panels, with an estimated maximum output of 13.7 megawatts at any one time.
Floating photovoltaics are a way of opening up new sites to solar power generation, Bloomberg New Energy Finance [BNEF] head of solar analysis Jenny Chase says. Combined with bifacial module technology, which captures energy reflected off the water's surface, they have advantages over traditional panels, Ms Chase says.
"They also reduce evaporation from the reservoirs, and where the water is a hydroelectric dam lake, can make use of existing transmission infrastructure. Power production may be anti-correlated with hydroelectric production, which is useful."
However, Ms Chase says floating solar power plants are not especially different from conventional ones, but in Japan with a generous power purchase agreement and no land, the economics work. "The capacity factor of 13.5 per cent doesn't suggest the developer expects amazing benefits from cooling or reflection on to bifacial modules," Ms Chase says.
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Kyocera will not disclose the project's construction budget or the investment required to build the facility, company spokeswoman Natsuki Doi tells The National. However, the construction cost of a floating solar power plant is about the same as a land-mounted type although civil engineering work is unnecessary, and it is easier to set up the floating mounts with solar modules, Ms Doi says.
"Therefore, the total cost of these two types are almost equal, although the mounts utilised for the floating type are more expensive than the land-mounted type," she says.
Harold Meurisse, international business developer at Ciel et Terre, told Bloomberg that a direct price comparison between floating and rooftop or ground-mounted systems is not indicative of reality. “It is a totally different kind of project."
But he said, “in some countries, we are already more competitive than ground-mounted systems." He added that this was the case in particular “where land is expensive and rare" or where "land [requires] a lot of civil engineering work like excavation, deforestation or seismic foundation [to house land-based solar]; or land where it is costly to dismantle if you have concrete foundations or you need to do grass maintenance.”
The biggest such facility in the world is being built in China's Three Gorges area. When completed in May of this year, the $151 million installation will generate 150 megawatts of electrical power. The new solar power plant will be operated by the Three Gorges Group, an instrument of the Chinese government.
back in Japan, since all energy generated from the Yamakura floating solar power plant will be sold directly to electricity companies, there is no plan to store power in battery systems. "We plan to apply a price of ¥32 [Dh1.1, before tax] per 1 kilowatt-hour, but we do not disclose the annual revenue of electricity sold," Ms Doi says.
However, media reported all the electricity generated at the plant will be sold to Tokyo Electric Power for an estimated ¥450m a year.
As there is further potential in Japan with its many reservoirs suitable for constructing floating power plants, Kyocera would like to proactively promote further development in the Japanese market, Ms Doi says.
Similar smaller plants Kyocera constructed that are already selling energy include a 2.5MW one in the city of Suzuka in Mie Prefecture, and a 1.9MW one at Shimoyama Pond in the city of Bizen, Okayama Prefecture. An 8.9MW plant is under construction in the city of Okayama City, the capital of the prefecture of the same name, Ms Doi says.
"We are considering developing similar projects overseas, mainly in Asia," she says.
For its part, Ciel et Terre Japan has built such plants in the cities of Awa in Tokushima Prefecture [4MW] and Tenri in Nara Prefecture [1MW]. The company is presently building a 5MW plant in the city of Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture, and a 2MW one in the city of Tsu, Mie Prefecture, Ciel et Terre Japan representative director Hajime Mori tells The National.
Mainly in western Japan, Ciel et Terre Japan is planning to build 30MW plants in the prefectures of Hyogo, Osaka, Okayama and Hiroshima, among other regions in the country. The company has set a goal to build a 100MW floating solar photovoltaic power plant by 2020, Mr Mori says.
"Based on our achievements in Japan, Ciel et Terre's head office in France is working on developing solar photovoltaic power projects in the US, Brazil, China, Taiwan, South Korea and South East Asia," he says.
Floating solar plants can be implemented on any water body, Mr Reddy says. ”So these plant may be very successful in other countries as well."
Ms Chase says there are "a bunch" of such plants in China and South Korea already. "They have invented 'boats' there too."
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
Related
SPECS
Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Mini John Cooper Works Countryman
Engine: two-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 306hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: JCW Clubman, Dh220,500; JCW Countryman, Dh225,500
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Smart words at Make Smart Cool
Make Smart Cool is not your usual festival. Dubbed “edutainment” by organisers Najahi Events, Make Smart Cool aims to inspire its youthful target audience through a mix of interactive presentation by social media influencers and a concert finale featuring Example with DJ Wire. Here are some of the speakers sharing their inspiration and experiences on the night.
Prince Ea
With his social media videos accumulating more half a billion views, the American motivational speaker is hot on the college circuit in the US, with talks that focus on the many ways to generate passion and motivation when it comes to learning.
Khalid Al Ameri
The Emirati columnist and presenter is much loved by local youth, with writings and presentations about education, entrepreneurship and family balance. His lectures on career and personal development are sought after by the education and business sector.
Ben Ouattara
Born to an Ivorian father and German mother, the Dubai-based fitness instructor and motivational speaker is all about conquering fears and insecurities. His talk focuses on the need to gain emotional and physical fitness when facing life’s challenges. As well managing his film production company, Ouattara is one of the official ambassadors of Dubai Expo2020.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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