Solar Power Generation Panels Installed on Roofs of Tokyo Head Office Building and CI Plaza Building

December 8, 2009

ITOCHU Corporation (“ITOCHU”) will install solar power generation systems on the roofs of its Tokyo Head Office Building and CI Plaza Building, located adjacent to the Tokyo Head Office Building. It will focus on encouraging broad use of solar power generation systems in public and industrial fields.

The installation of solar power generation systems on the roofs of ITOCHU Tokyo Head Office Building and CI Plaza has been adopted as a project for the Solar Environment Value Purchase Program for fiscal 2009*1, under a public call by the Ministry of the Environment. The systems will have total generating capacity of approximately 100kW, enough power to light 3.5 floors of the Tokyo Head Office Building*2, and represent one of the largest solar power generation systems installed on a high-rise building in Japan. The panels will be installed by an ITOCHU Group company, Ecosystem Japan Co., Ltd. and are scheduled to begin generating power from April 2010.

In its solar power generation business, ITOCHU is taking steps to create a value chain and SI*3 strategy in the three key markets of North America, Europe and Japan. Although the majority of solar power generation in the domestic Japanese market is currently geared to residential applications, demand from government and industry is expected to grow, as it has been in the United States and Europe. The installation of solar power generation systems at the Tokyo Head Office Building and CI Plaza aims to demonstrate ITOCHU’s commitment to leading and promoting the use of eco-friendly solar power. Using it as a springboard, ITOCHU and Ecosystem Japan will begin focusing in earnest on the public and industry sectors.

The power generation status of the systems is expected to be displayed by monitors located inside the Tokyo Head Office Building and also in the public space in CI Plaza.

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Model showing solar power generation systems installed on
the ITOCHU Tokyo Head Office Building and CI Plaza Building
  1. A program to provide support for the installation of an industrial solar power generation system in which the majority of generated power is self consumed, on the condition that the Green Electric Power Certificate for five years after installation is delivered to the Ministry of the Environment, to offset the Ministry’s CO2 emissions generated by its office work. The program aims to encourage the installation of solar power generation, essential for creating a low carbon society, and also addresses the Ministry of the Environment’s own environmental concerns about its office operations.
  2. At instantaneous maximum power generation capacity.
  3. A general term used to describe contractors that provide engineering , sales and installation service of solar power generation systems, combining solar cell modules and associated equipment together.

About Ecosystem Japan Co., Ltd.

Company name Ecosystem Japan Co., Ltd.
Representative Toshio Shigemi
Head Office 4F, Davinci Shinjukuzaka, 23-2, Sakamachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Established May, 1997
Capital 332.08 million yen
Employees 192 (as of September, 2009)
URL http://www.j-ecosystem.co.jp/[Open in a new window]

The market for residential solar power systems is growing rapidly with the revival of subsidies at the national and local government levels, and the introduction of a system for purchasing surplus power. As a specialist in sales and installation, Ecosystem Japan has a leading share of the Japanese market for solar power generation systems for existing private residences, with about 13,000 units sold and installed to date. The company deals in the solar power generation systems of major domestic manufacturers and has its own installation staff. Seven sales bases cover the country with the exception of Hokkaido and Okinawa. Since ITOCHU took an equity stake in March 2009, Ecosystem Japan has been selling and installing systems for the existing residential market field. In the future, it plans to expand into commercial and public-sector installations.