Home / Asia / Japan / Mukawa

Mukawa

Solar power plant in Hokkaido, Japan. Approximate location 42.635, 141.947.

SolarHokkaidoJapan

Mukawa is a 19 MW solar power plant in Hokkaido, Japan. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 8.1k homes (estimated). It ranks #477 of 692 Japan power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 9.8% of Japan's electricity; the national grid averages 477 gCO₂/kWh (32.7% low-carbon) (2025).

19Source-backed capacity
8,084homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WKS0065224.

Data status

Known data

FacilityMukawa WRI
CountryJapan · Hokkaido WRI
Coordinates42.635, 141.947 WRI
FuelSolar WRI
MW installed capacity19 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#477 of 692 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#117 of 324 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.46× · 13 MW median · 324 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent8,084 calculated
Climate6.8°C · HDD 4,129 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 37/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
CommissionedNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 22 MW for Mukawa Town Solar Park Power Plant, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: B_SCOPE_PARENT_COMPLEX - recommended action: build_parent_complex_model - confidence: not_comparable_without_scope. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000830542); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 19 MW, Mukawa is well above the median solar plant in Japan (13 MW). Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel; output varies by time of day and weather, so it pairs with storage or flexible backup.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Capacity vs largest solar plants in Japan

Setouchi: 235 MW235SetouchiTomatoh Abira Solar Power Plant: 111 MW111Tomatoh Ab…Hosoe: 96 MW96HosoeOita - Marubeni Solar Power Plant: 82 MW82Oita - Mar…Kagoshima - Nanatsujima Solar Power Plant: 70 MW70Kagoshima …Rokkasho - Takahoko Solar Power Plant: 65 MW65Rokkasho -…Minamisoma: 60 MW60MinamisomaShin Mine CS: 56 MW56Shin Mine …

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Local climate & thermal context

This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 42.6°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

6.8°Cannual mean temp
4,129heating degree-days (base 18°C)
60cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
89 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -6 °CJF: -5 °CFM: -1 °CMA: 5 °CAM: 10 °CMJ: 14 °CJJ: 18 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 16 °CSO: 10 °CON: 4 °CND: -2 °CD20 °C

Heating degree-days here run 68% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 86/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 0.0% at warm-season highs here (estimate).

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
37/100environmental-severity index
25.6°Cseasonal temperature swing
20 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #117 largest solar power plant of 324 in Japan by capacity.

Japan has 324 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 5,680 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 42.635, 141.947 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Mukawa?

Mukawa is a 19 MW source-record solar power plant in Hokkaido, Japan.

How many homes can Mukawa power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 8,084 homes (estimated).

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.