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| 10/29/08 |
Kyushu Electric Embarks on Program to Triple Solar Power Generation |
Kyushu Electric Power has begun efforts to triple the amount of solar power it generates over the next 10 years. The utility plans to build a mega-solar plant in Omuta, Fukuoka, and is conducting technical research at its labs to achieve its goal. One difficulty that must be overcome with solar power, a clean energy source, is that it has a low generation efficiency. Kyushu Electric is committed to overcoming this problem.
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| 10/22/08 |
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Daihatsu Kyushu Builds Kurume Plant |
Daihatsu Kyushu, based in Nakatsu, Oita Prefecture, held a press conference in August 2008 to announce the completion of the construction of an engine plant in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture. It is the first new engine plant for the Daihatsu group in 34 years, and their first to be located in Kyushu. The parent company, Daihatsu Motor Co., plans to expand the Kurume plant in the future and pursue a strategy of basing domestic production in Kyushu and in the Kansai region.
The plant was built with an investment of about 10 billion yen on 174,000 square meters of land in the city's Yoshimoto Industrial Park. It will produce 216,000 engines per year for use at Daihatsu's Nakatsu plant.
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| 10/22/08 |
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Kyushu Electric to Build Solar Power Plant in Omuta |
Fukuoka-based Kyushu Electric Power announced in August 2008 that it plans to build a solar power plant in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture. It is expected to generate 3,000 kW of power, giving it the largest output of any Kyushu solar plant. Construction is slated to begin in September or October 2009, and the plant will begin operation at the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011.
The plant is part of the company's plan to increase the generation of reusable energy that does not emit greenhouse gases, one of the causes of global warming. Plans call for the plant to be built on 70,000 square meters on the site of the company's former power plant in Shinko-machi. It will generate roughly 3.15 million kW hours of electricity, enough to provide power to about 900 households for one year. It is also expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions compared to a non-solar plant by about 1,300 tons a year, or the equivalent of the exhaust from 600 automobiles.
Kyushu Electric will obtain the solar panels from a yet-to-be-determined source, but they are expected to use up to 30,000 such panels, each the size of a household tatami mat.
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| 10/22/08 |
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Three Universities Team Up to Develop Car Electronics |
Graduate schools of the University of Kitakyushu (located at Kitakyushu Science and Research Park), the Kyushu Institute of Technology, and Waseda University of Tokyo announced in August 2008 the formation of an alliance to operate an institute starting next April for training personnel in IT use to develop car electronics products. There is a growing need for specialists in this field, as the use of computers in automobiles is becoming more sophisticated. This alliance will be one of 54 announced by the Ministry of Education to receive its support.
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| 09/09/08 |
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Kyushu Univ. Pushes toward Fuel Cell Commercialization |
A research team at the Kyushu University Center for Future Chemistry led by Prof. Seiji Ogo has developed the world's first nickel catalyst for extracting electrons from water at a constant temperature and pressure, it was revealed on August 9, 2008 in a preliminary report on the website of the Chemical Society of Japan.
Platinum is essential for the use of fuel cells as energy sources in the future, but it is extremely expensive. Developing a catalyst using nickel, which is cheaper and of which there are abundant reserves, is expected to be a major step toward the commercialization and spread of these fuel cells.
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