ORIX Inks Deal With Envision Digital to Empower Digitised Operations Across Utility-scale Solar Farms in Japan

Japan’s largest solar energy asset manager now taps leading edge technology across 82 sites to promote mainstream use of renewable energy and contribute to the country’s sustainability agenda

ORIX Renewable Energy Management Corporation (OREM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ORIX Corporation, a diversified financial services group headquartered in Japan, and Envision Digital International Pte Ltd, a global green tech and Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) technology leader, announced a partnership to deploy advanced analytics and remote monitoring applications in utility-scale solar farms across 82 sites in Japan.

By improving energy productivity and operational efficiency, the deployment will enhance ORIX’s efforts to popularise renewable energy and contribute to Japan’s national goal of increasing its reliance on renewables to 24 percent of its energy mix by 2030.

With one-gigawatt (GW) of solar energy assets, including utility-scale, commercial and industrial, ORIX is the largest solar asset manager in Japan. It also develops and operates its own rapidly growing fleet of solar farms that currently generate 420 megawatts (MWs) in utility, including the Niigata Yotsugoya Power Plant (55.6 MWs), the Shiriuchi Mega Solar 20M Power Plant (24 MWs), and the Hirono-Cho Mega Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Plant (24.3 MWs). ORIX’s OR Yamaguchi Mine Solar Power Plant (56.4 MWs), for instance, is scheduled to commence operations in October 2021.

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The partnership with Envision Digital will involve the deployment of Ensight Solar and Enlight Solar, the company’s cloud-based advanced analytics and remote monitoring solutions. By leveraging Ensight Solar’s algorithms, which proactively detects emerging system underperformance and component health issues from raw data and delivers recommendations for corrective action, OREM’s operations and maintenance (O&M) teams can visualise power generation conditions and pre-emptively maintain the long-term efficiency and health of its PV assets.

Enlight Solar then overlays real-time remote operational monitoring capabilities across ORIX’s diverse portfolio of distributed PV sites, allowing OREM’s O&M teams to provide immediate recovery support in the event of malfunctions and maximise power generation capacity. Both solutions are powered by EnOS, Envision Digital’s AIoT operating system.

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Yurita Kazuhisa, Chief Strategy Officer, ORIX Renewable Energy Management Corporation, said: “With Envision Digital’s end-to-end solution and expertise, OREM can provide total customer support – from proposals to implementation to maintenance, which in turn helps our customers optimise energy use and reduce costs. This reinforces our dedication toward expanding renewable energy-based power generation and asset management, supporting the popularisation of renewable energy, and adding value to our communities in Japan.”

Sylvie Ouziel, International President, Envision Digital, said: “Japan is one of the fastest-growing nations and leaders in the global PV market. As the country strives to achieve 24 percent renewable energy capacity by 2030, AIoT projects like this, which help to improve the productivity of existing renewable energy assets, are vital. Over time, the wider adoption of AIoT in the sector will create further network effects and amplify current benefits. This local project, among others, along with our recent expansion of operations with a new office in the Kanagawa prefecture, reinforce our commitment toward empowering a more sustainable future for citizens and businesses in Japan.”

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