Idemitsu Kosan begun construction of a 2MW sun-tracking agrisolar power plant in Komatsushima City, Tokushima Prefecture, the company said on February 28, 2025.
According to the statement, the power plant is expected to be completed in February 2026. It will be equipped with rotating bifacial solar panels to maximize power generation while also maximizing the amount of sunlight reaching crops grown under the panels.
The 2MW power plant follows a 45kW demonstration project in Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture, launched in 2023. The demonstration has “confirmed that there are no problems with the yield or quality of the harvested rice” and that it is “possible to secure the same amount of power generation as a ground-mounted power generation facility on a year-round basis without any problems.”
Idemitsu Kosan plans to confirm the scalability and commercial feasibility of the technology through the second project. The power will likely be sold through its retail unit, Idemitsu Green Power, as with the smaller pilot.
Japan’s topography, which limits the land available for solar development, is driving interest in agrisolar and floating solar from both the government, which provides subsidies for such projects, and developers. Idemitsu Kosan’s project reflects this trend.
Correction (March 6, 2025): The previous version of this article incorrectly referred to the city in Tokushima Prefecture as Komatsu.
