Nitto Kogyo Corporation (Nitto Kogyo) started a demonstration experiment by installing a solar sharing (agricultural solar power generation facility) called “SafaLink- Farm Kakegawa-” in Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture in May 2023.

HAMADA Co., Ltd (Hamada), an eco-solutions company specialized in industrial waste treatment, collects used solar panels from  repowering projects, disasters, etc., and provide those panels as reused panels to domestic and overseas.  For this project, 252 reused panels provided by Hamada are installed on 1,685m2 of devastated farmland. This solar power generation facility operates independently of the feed-in tariff (FIT) system. The output of the solar panels is 64 kW, with a grid-connected output of 49.5 kW. The shading rate of the solar panels is about 32%, and the estimated amount of electricity generated is about 98,000 kWh/year.

Nitto Kogyo Corporation aims to address the social issue of devastating farmland by leasing such lands and engaging in both CO2 reduction and land regeneration through solar power generation. By utilizing the digital grid power trading platform, the company obtains environmental value from the power generated,  and reduce emissions with the environmental value, and will also use the digital grid to handle planned same-volume operations and imbalance burdens.

Underneath the panels, approximately 100 olive tree saplings, which Kakegawa City is promoting as a local product, will be cultivated.

Cultivation will be carried out by NITTO KOGYO employees under the guidance of local farmers, and an attempt will be a support measure for the local community facing severe aging and labor shortages due to declining birth rates, the company will also engage in labor sharing between its factory and farm.

This will serve as an example leading to the transformation of degraded farmland into cultivable land, promoting an “agriculture-driven” approach.