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Sun Village Co., Ltd., a Tochigi-headquartered solar development firm, and Rexia Corporation, a Tokyo-headquartered firm specializing in the purchase and sale of used solar equipment, announced on March 19, 2024, that they signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) aiming to form a strategic business alliance to promote the reuse and recycling of used solar panels.
The two companies developed a non-FIT solar power plant in Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture, as their first project. The plant, which utilizes 300 second-life solar panels (320W) provided by Rexia, is expected to produce approximately 104,000 kWh of solar power annually. It began supplying power in February 2024. Sun Village’s wholly-owned subsidiary, SVA-2 Co., Ltd., acts as a power generation operator, delivering electricity to Marubeni Power Retail Corporation through an off-site PPA (Power Purchase Agreement). For Sun Village, this is the first off-site PPA for a non-FIT solar power plant using second-life panels. Through this partnership, the two companies aim to develop circular solar power plants across Japan by utilizing second-life solar panels.
Japan experienced a solar boom following the introduction of a Feed-In Tariff (FIT) scheme in July 2012. Since then, the country has made various efforts to prevent the mass disposal of used solar panels and promote proper end-of-life management. Deploying second-hand panels in commercial and industry projects will be essential in establishing a circular economy for solar equipment.
