Image from Abema Times
The 120 mph wind brought by Faxai has damaged Japan’s biggest solar plant built by Kyocera at the Yamakura Dam. It is suspected that the modules set loose by the typhoon have caused the fire.
Japan Meteorological Agency reported that Faxai made landfall in the east of Tokyo at 5 A.M. JST on Monday. Ever since then it has been running rampant and wreaking havoc. The typhoon brought winds as strong as Category 1 hurricane at landfall, flood, and storm surge as well power outage, leaving a trail of broken homes and injured people at its wake, according to AccuWeather.
Credit: Asahi Shimbun
As Faxai tore through Japan, Kyocera’s 13.7 MW floating solar power plant at the Yamakura Dam also fell victim to the deadly typhoon. The fire broke out at the floating project. Whiffs of black smoke are seen coming from the solar modules.
The strong wind has torn the modules off the floating solar power plant and stacked them against the ones that are still secured to the structure. This close contact has enabled the modules to overheat then go up in flames.
According to the firefighters responding to the scene, it has been challenging to put out the fire. Fires at the floating solar projects are particularly complicated, given that fire, water, as well as electricity, are all present at the same time.
Sources:
- Japan’s largest floating PV plant catches fire after Typhoon Faxai impact
- Fire breaks out at floating solar plant in Japan
- Deadly Typhoon Faxai impacting Tokyo with flooding, high winds
