Solar Power Generation on Culture Rafts to Enter Demonstration-Phase on Yatsushiro Sea

It was announced on October 22, 2011, that full-scale demonstration experiments for photovoltaic power generation on culture rafts floating on the Yatsushiro Sea will begin in fiscal 2012. Jointly with Minamata City, three companies, including Fuji Electric Co., that applied and were selected for the "Next Generation Energy Technology Validation Project" by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, will address this challenge using rafts for oyster farming of local brand oyster named Kumamoto Oyster.

The plan is to use the energy generated via photovoltaic panels attached to the upper surfaces of the rafts to activate an underwater micro-bubble generator, thereby purifying the water and promoting growth in the fishery.

After developing the photovoltaic power generation system integrated with culture rafts floating on the sea surface, which are resistant to seawater corrosion, the project aims to develop and demonstrate an independently powered culture system utilizing an automatic feeding system, a wireless remote monitoring system including underwater cameras, and a system for improving the culture environment using micro-bubbles.

These systems are expected to contribute to the culture industry in the Tohoku region, where reconstruction efforts following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 continue.

Minamata City Scores Highest in 8th Top Eco-City Contest (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/029167.html
Japan's Eco-City Contest -- Review of its Ten-Year History
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/031174.html

Posted: 2012/02/25 06:00:15 AM