Sakurajima, Japan’s most active volcano, is part of life in this region of Kyushu, Japan’s laid-back sun-dappled southern island. With almost constant eruptions since 1955, locals are used to the ash, which often falls from the sky like a fine snow and settles where it lands.

The ash is one of a series of unique challenges faced by Japan’s two biggest PV plants (both on Kyushu), mainly due to their siting on reclaimed land, in what is an extremely earthquake-prone country.

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