Japan is turning to solar power to boost its energy supplies and sea power to make its solar stations work more efficiently.
In Japan's Hyogo prefecture, a solar station by Kyocera has been built floating on a reservoir that was recently unveiled, Quartz wrote.
The solar power plant is expected to produce about 2,680 megawatt hours per year, sufficient for 820 typical households. The energy will be sold to Kansai Electric Power in Osaka for around ¥96 million ($780,000) per year.
Japanese experts decided to build floating solar power stations to make them run more efficiently. The water acts as a cooler for the system and helps it generate power more efficiently than if it was on land. At the same time, the installations shade the water, decreasing evaporation and algae growth, which are two common issues with reservoirs.
Solar power stations are expected to make a significant contribution to Japan's energy requirements as its energy strategy in the aftermath of Fukushima calls for roughly double the amount of renewable power sources in the country by 2030.
The government is looking to significantly increase renewable resources for the next 15 years, but it will still depend heavily on the country's usual energy suppliers, namely nuclear power and fossil fuels, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Kyocera is set to create dozens more solar power stations on reservoirs around Japan, especially in locations without available land for utility-scale generation.
Completed in late May, the Hyogo solar power plant, measuring 333 by 77 meters, started operations this week. The station uses 9,100 water-proof solar panels and a float made of high-density polyethylene.
Kyocera has previously launched two installations on ponds earlier this year.
It is eyeing to launch a large floating solar installation in the Chiba prefecture's Yamakura Dam reservoir next March, which will produce around 15,635 megawatt hours per year.
