SOLARCITY GIFTS SUN TO FUKUSHIMA FOR WATER

Elon Musk Donates Solar Power Project to Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan; SolarCity will manage project at no cost to provide clean, renewable electricity to water treatment plant in area still recovering from effects of tsunami
July 29, 2011 (Reuters)

"Elon Musk, through his Musk Foundation, has donated $250,000 to build a solar power system in Soma City, in the Fukushima prefecture of Japan…that was devastated by a tsunami earlier this year…SolarCity is donating time and resources to manage the project, which will provide renewable electricity to a city facility located on reclaimed industrial land not suitable for agriculture.

"The solar arrays will consist of high-efficiency solar panels manufactured in Japan, and will be installed by local workers in Fukushima. The project will create local construction jobs and can act as a model for the reuse of disaster-stricken areas in other parts of Japan…"

japan has sun (click to enlarge)

"Much of the eastern portion of Soma was flooded by a devastating tsunami following a massive earthquake on March 11, 2011. The city is about 43 kilometers north of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the site of the nuclear accident caused by the tsunami. Soma City’s agriculture, dairy and fishing industries were devastated…and tourism has been hurt…[but despite] Soma City’s proximity to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, the winds and topography have protected the city…

"The Soma City project will be the Musk Foundation’s second donated solar project the last 12 months. The Musk Foundation donated the funds and SolarCity donated labor to build a solar power system for a hurricane response center in southern Alabama in December 2010, to provide renewable power with battery backup to an area that had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico."