Two major oil companies joined a state-run bank to float a joint venture for starting large-scale solar power plants in energy-starved Japan.
Cosmo Oil, Showa Shell Sekiyu and the Development Bank of Japan plan to launch a new company by the month-end to run "mega solar" power plants, Japan's NHK public broadcaster reported on Wednesday.
Each entity will invest in the project to build mega solar plants at eight locations on the sites of former oil production facilities, and they hope to begin power generation by the year-end.
The new facilities will have a total generation capacity of about 30 megawatts, and the electricity generated will be sold to local power companies.
More oil production facilities in Japan are expected to close down due to sluggish demand for gasoline. Leading oil companies hope that the solar project will offer a new source of revenue and allow them to make use of former oil production facilities.
Japan is less depending on nuclear power for its energy needs since the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011. All but two of Japan's 50-odd nuclear power plants are remaining offline since the nuclear catastrophe.
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