Japan builds world's largest artificial solar power island

Japan is about 146,000 square miles (378,000 square kilometers), about the same size as the U.S. state of Montana. The difference is that Montana has a population of about 1 million, while Japan has crammed 128 million people into its territory. Japan has ambitious plans to move away from nuclear power and rely more on clean energy, but the lack of land creates a problem.

So where can such clean energy projects be built? According to Japan's Kyocera Corporation and Tokyo Century Leasing, clean energy projects will be carried out on water. The two companies are working together to build two huge solar islands, which will float on two reservoirs (or ponds) and can produce a total of 2.9 megawatts of energy. According to a survey, the combined production capacity of these two floating solar power stations is enough to meet the electricity consumption of 483 to 967 American households.

One of the "megawatt-class solar power plants on the water" will be built on the Xiping Reservoir. According to the announcement of the two companies, it will generate about 1.7 megawatts of energy, making it the world's largest floating solar power plant. The second solar power plant will be built on the Dongping Pond and will generate about 1.2 megawatts of clean energy. The project is scheduled to start in September and is expected to be completed in April 2015.

Bloomberg News quoted a spokesperson as saying that the joint venture between Kyocera and Tokyo Century Leasing aims to eventually produce 60 megawatts of solar energy with the help of 30 floating power plants, with an average capacity of about 2 megawatts per plant. As far as floating solar power plants are concerned, the Danish capital Copenhagen may be one step ahead of Japan: it is likely that giant solar panel "energy ducks" will soon float in its harbor.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.