Honda building mega solar power generation system

Will be located at new racing car test course.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd said it will build a new test course and mega solar system on its property in the city of Sakura in Tochigi prefecture.

When announced in 2007, the test course was to have featured a high-speed circuit with a 4 km long track. Honda, however, delayed the plan due to the 2008 global economic recession.

It modified the purpose and scale of the plan and decided to build a new test course of 25 hectares in size to be utilized for the development of advanced safety technologies.

Honda will also build a solar power generation system with an annual capacity of 10 MW within the same property in Sakura. After installing some 70,000 solar panels on a 33 ha lot, Honda is planning to begin sales of the generated electricity in 2015.

Honda is also planning to build a biotope within the property and will welcome members of the local community to enjoy it. A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. It is almost synonymous with the term habitat.