Sanyo Electric Unveils Giant Photovoltaic Monument, the "Solar Ark"

Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. of Japan completed a large-scale photovoltaic (PV) power generation facility that doubles as a monument, dubbed the "Solar Ark", in its Gifu plant in December 2001.

Constructed to commemorate the company's fiftieth anniversary, the structure is 315 meters long, and 37.1 meters high at both ends. The maximum power output from the solar cell modules facing the south is 630 kW. The Solar Ark is the world's largest PV power-generating monument and at the same time the one with the world's largest output of generated electricity. The solar power will supply a part of the electricity needed by the plant starting in April 2002, when the full-scale solar power generation starts. The maximum yearly electricity production is expected to be around 530,000 kWh.

http://sanyo.com/solarark/en/

Posted: 2002/08/24 05:28:56 AM
Japanese version