Passing Down Hometown to Future
Generations with Renewable Energy A mega solar power plant was completed in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, which is one of the largest in size in the prefecture.
The power plant project aims to unite the hearts of residents scattered throughout Japan due to evacuation and to preserve their hometown for future generations.

A man was walking with his dog. After I passed him, I didn't see anyone else. A few trucks and vans drove away. Walking down a vast land where clock had stopped since that day, I finally arrived at an on-site office. Saw people within. Lights were on. What a relief I felt!

This is the “Mega Solar Power Plant in Yatsuda District of Namie Town” located in Futaba County, Fukushima Prefecture. It is one of the largest solar power plants in the prefecture, with 200,000 panels lined up on 880,000 square meters of land that used to be paddy fields. The project was led by a limited liability company co-funded by Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. (“MRI”), Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company Limited, and local Fukushima Electric Power, and Daiwa Energy joined as a contractor responsible for development, design, construction, and maintenance.

On that day—March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake caused a nuclear accident in Fukushima Prefecture, which turned 80% of the area of Namie Town into a difficult-to-return zone. It was not until March 2017, six years later, that the evacuation order was partially lifted. Around that time, a construction project of a mega solar power plant appeared in the Namie Town reconstruction plan formulated by the town. MUFG Bank, Ltd. invited Mr. Baba of MRI and other operators to participate in the project. "We can restore the image of the town by making it an environmentally friendly renewable energy hub,” they thought upon receiving this proposal. “Utilizing the land as a mega solar power plant would economically benefit the community, too.”

Nominated as the project site was the Yatsuda district of Namie Town. Mr. Baba and his team visited Mayor Harada who had the confidence of the local residents.

The center of Namie Town was getting back to normal, with the resumption of daily life facilities. In contrast, the Yatsuda district was left unattended despite the lifting of the evacuation order. Surrounded on three sides by the difficult-to-return zones, and separated by a river on its north side, the district was isolated from the rest of the town. The 370 residents of 76 households had scattered throughout the prefecture and nation. Paddy fields casting a golden glow had turned into wastelands.

Hope for rice farming was dying. The residents of the district had already found jobs in their new places. In the survey, only around 10% of them answered that they would "return" to the district. The water from the agricultural dam was found to be safe for use, but was constantly threatened by radioactive contamination.

Owners of lands unsuitable for rice farming received not a few proposals for building small solar power facilities in each of their plots. But Mayor Harada never nodded his head. "Building solar facilities in only some areas of the district will lead to reconstruction disparity,” he said. “If we build it, we must build it across the district.” All that was on his mind was how to preserve Yatsuda district. If it would be a mega solar plant, lands of all the residents can be equally utilized. And if we locals take on daily management of the plant premises like grass cutting, it will also improve the community environment. The residents would not forget their hometown if given the chance to return to Yatsuda several times a year. Mayor Harada made a difficult decision.

To receive the government approval, provisional consent of landowners was first required. Mayor Harada and his family members addressed in handwriting each envelope to landowners enclosing the project details prepared by MRI and a consent form. To find out their honest opinions, he attached a letter saying "If you disagree, please write that you disagree."

The replies sent from them were all "agree." The residents united as one as they swallowed their despair and decided to move forward.

The project plan finally started to move. Daiwa Energy was selected with its proposals for design, procurement, and construction. Then, the most appropriate members were brought together from within the company to set up a team under the direct control of the management. Appointed to the project manager was Mr. Adachi.

Mr. Adachi had accumulated experiences as a founding member of the Daiwa House Group's solar power generation business, "DREAM Solar" after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Daiwa Energy has now 132 solar power plants (as of December 1, 2020), grown into one of the largest in Japan in terms of the number of power plants.

However, even for a man rich in experience and achievements like Mr. Adachi, this was the first project in a site that had just gone through decontamination. Moreover, during the design process, the electricity destination from the solar power plant was forced to be changed, which called for an extra work in the difficult-to-return zone. Which area is safe and what can be dangerous? In order to dispel the concerns of employees and subcontractors, he measured radiation dose not only at the project site but also in the surrounding areas, and advanced the design process by exchanging opinions with subcontractors.

"Our mission was to embody the ideas and thoughts of both landowners and business operators,” Mr. Adachi believed. As a logistic supporter, he promised himself that he would always make quick decisions. “Who can say, 'Let me think about it,’ in front of someone who is really in need?” According to Mayor Harada, "Mr. Adachi is well-versed in the front-line operation and is quick to judge situations and take actions based on an understanding of our ideas.” “If compared to a car, he would be a 4WD," said Mayor Harada, recalling the vigorous efforts of Mr. Adachi who traveled over the rough dirt road.

Given the offer from local residents "to take on grass cutting and waterways maintenance inside the premises,” Mr. Baba and the business operators decided to entrust the work to them, believing that “it would help the local economy circulate and revitalize the community.” Engaging in grass cutting and other works on their own meant much to the residents, too. Yatsuda had long cherished a custom of "give-and-take" to help each other in farm work. By preserving the tradition and providing old residents with opportunities to return to the district, "We want to preserve the community for future generations," Mayor Harada hopes.

The maintenance contract period is 20 years—the same as that for land lease. The problem was that there were no place for them to get together. A district meeting hall was closed and unoccupied houses were all run-down. Then, why don’t we open up an on-site office to the landowners and other people so that there they can communicate each other? Mr. Adachi and his team walked around the town looking for a large building. Then, they offered to the owner of a candidate site a long-term contract for 20 years. “If it would benefit Namie Town,” said the owner, giving his consent.

On the day of the safety prayer ceremony, landowners who had been scattered across the country gathered at the on-site office, talking to each other with a smile. They held a meeting to test weeding methods, which reminded them of the vibrancy of when they used to do that in the rice fields.

In the project, Mr. Adachi and his team incorporated various measures into the design. While leveraging the expertise accumulated through the past "DREAM Solar" projects, they also took into consideration the aging of the landowners. For example, they have put grass preventing sheets under the solar panels and other areas where weeding work would be difficult. The minimum ground heights of the solar cell modules and other components were computed based on the installation environment.

In the fall of 2019, when the construction was halfway through, Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan. The surrounding areas were severely affected by a record heavy rain, but the damage to Yatsuda site was minimal. From the day after the storm, they started to examine the cause of flooding, and together with Mayor Harada acquainted with “water paths,” took preventive measures. Two weeks later, another heavy rainfall hit the site again, but no serious issues occurred, which assured the team that the plant would be handed over to the district with no worry.

On September 30, 2020, the “Mega Solar Power Plant in Yatsuda District of Namie Town” was completed. Commercial operation started with a solar cell output of approximately 60 MW and an annual energy production of approximately 71 million kWh, which is equivalent to the annual power consumption for 14,500 households*.

* Calculated by using 4,892 kWh per year for each household based on the Labeling Guidelines (FY2020) of Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA)