OREANDA-NEWS. November 02, 2012. The following seven companies (listed in Japanese alphabetical order) hereby announce that they have decided to participate in "the Osaka Hikari-no-mori Project" (English translation of the Project name: the Osaka Forest of Light Project": Jupiter Telecommunications Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Shuichi Mori), Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kuniharu Nakamura), Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Osaka; President: Masayoshi Matsumoto), DAIHEN Corporation (Head Office: Yodogawa-ku, Osaka; President and CEO: Tetsuya Tajiri), Hitachi Zosen Corporation (Head Office: Suminoe-ku, Osaka; Chairman and President: Minoru Furukawa), Rengo Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Kita-ku, Osaka; President and CEO: Kiyoshi Otsubo), and NTT Facilities, Inc. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Kiyoshi Tsutsui).

The Osaka Hikari-no-mori Project is a mega-solar power generation project to be implemented in cooperation between the public and private sectors. Mega-solar power generation facilities will be established at Osaka's Hokko Landfill Site in Yume-shima with the participation of companies from the private sector. The project is located in the Hokko Landfill Site, a waste landfill where ash from household trash combustion are buried over a vast area. Because parts of the site will continue to be used as a landfill, it is difficult to use for any other purpose. In 2010, the city of Osaka publicly invited companies to propose new ideas for effective utilization of the site. Sumitomo Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance & Leasing Co., Ltd. made a joint proposal for a mega-solar power generation site based on contributions from a consortium of companies; "Solar-power Group Share (SGS)", and this idea was successfully selected. Since then, feasibility studies have been conducted to materialize the plan. The seven companies listed above have decided to support this idea, and now the project will officially commence.

1. Purpose (Contribution to local communities through environmental education, etc.)
Ten years have already passed since Japan proposed the launch of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to the United Nations in 2002, and there is now increasing pressure on the Japanese government as well as the private sector to conduct cooperative efforts in environmental protection and educational activities. The Osaka Hikari-no-mori Project is designed to contribute to the creation of a sustainable community through implementation of the mega-solar power generation project at the Hokko Landfill Site. Furthermore, the mega-solar power generation facilities to be established at the site will be proactively utilized as teaching materials for environmental education. In the Special Comprehensive Zone for the Kansai Innovation International Strategy where the project will be undertaken, studies are being conducted to implement advanced measures for renewable energy in the coastal area of the city of Osaka, including the Yume-shima district. We aim to further revitalize local communities through implementation of the mega-solar power generation project.

2. Schedule
We aim to conclude a project agreement with the city of Osaka and commence preliminary investigations starting November 2012. 10-megawatt solar power generation facilities are planned to be installed and begin operation by the fall of 2013. The electricity generated at these facilities will be sold to the Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. under the feed-in tariff system.

3. Method of implementation of the project
The cost of the facilities will be shared by multiple companies, providing funding and relevant know-how, and proceeds from the sale of the generated electricity to the power company will be distributed to participating companies in proportion to the cost they bear. The land for the project to be installed is to be provided by the city of Osaka, and the project will be implemented based on the new public-private sector cooperation system (SGS).

4. Outline of the project
  (1) Location of the mega solar power generation facilities (as shown in the attachment)
       Land extending over roughly 15 hectares on the waste landfill site located in the

       Yume-shima first district, Konohana-ku, Osaka City
  (2) Scale of power generation
       10 megawatts

       (Equivalent to the electricity consumption of about 3,200 standard households)
  (3) Launch of operations
       October 2013 (planned)
  (4) Participating companies (as of today)
       Jupiter Telecommunications Co., Ltd., Sumitomo Corporation,

       Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., DAIHEN Corporation, Hitachi Zosen Corporation,

       Rengo Co., Ltd., and NTT Facilities, Inc.
  (5) Organization in charge of SGS
       Owner of the assets: Sumitomo Mitsui Finance & Leasing Co., Ltd.
       Facility management contractor: Summit Energy Corporation

Additional companies with strong environmental awareness that wish to take part in the protection of the global environment and engage in the promotion of renewable energy in urban areas are invited to participate in the project. Each contributing company will be responsible over the long-term for a 500-kilowatt share of the solar power generation facilities.