A Japanese megabank is tapping into what may be the country’s first solar panel farm located in a sheep pasture for renewable energy to power buildings housing the bank’s domestic branches.
As part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions, MUFG Bank has signed a contract with Osaka Gas Co. and Machiokoshi Energy Co. for the bank to receive electricity generated from an 89-hectare pasture in the coastal town of Shiranuka in Hokkaido.
The farm is expected to produce about 19 gigawatt-hours annually, enough to power about 4,000 Japanese households a year.
Photorealistic image of the planned solar panels and sheep pasture in Shiranuka, Hokkaido. (Image courtesy of Machiokoshi Energy Co.)(Kyodo)
Machiokoshi Energy, a local power generation business based in Hyogo Prefecture, says the “solar grazing” setup offers mutual benefits to sheep and the solar panels.
The sheep are likely to keep running costs down by…
