By Evolution Solar Sunshine Coast

Global Logistic Properties Limited (GLP) announced in a press release yesterday that it was investing US$82million (+AU$77million) in rooftop solar across 22 properties in Japan.

President of GLP Japan, Yoshiyuki Chosa, said “as a leading developer of large scale, modern and environmentally friendly logistic facilities, we are delighted to announce the launch of this exciting project.”

The project, which is set to commence in April of this year will be spread across 22 properties, 3.3mil square feet of roof space and produce 29.6MW per hour (29 000MW per year.) This is the equivalent to the power usage of 5 300 homes for a year. The power will be sold back to utility companies, under Japans new feed-in tariff scheme, for AU$0.43 per kilowatt hour (JPY40) over a period of 20 years. Japans industry minister, Yukio Edano, approved the feed-in tariff for renewable energy in mid June 2012. They are among the highest in the world.

The company aims to promote the use of renewable energies as well as creating a new stream of revenue for the company. They expect an internal rate of return (IRR) of 17% on their investment. The solar panels are being provided by Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited.

GLP is a world leading provider of modern logistic facilities. It owns, manages and leases out 505 properties across 60 cities and states in China, Japan and Brazil where is holds a market leading position.