Mitsubishi, Amazon to Build 450 Solar Plants Totalling 20 MW in Japan

Japanese trading company Mitsubishi Corporation has signed a long-term corporate power purchase agreement, through which it will supply electricity to data centres owned and operated by online retail giant Amazon’s subsidiary Amazon Web Services.

Facilitated by MC Retail Energy Co., Ltd., this corporate PPA represents Amazon’s first use of renewable energy in Japan. Under the agreement’s terms, West Holdings Corporation will build and maintain roughly 450 solar power stations (with a total installed capacity of approximately 22 megawatts) for Amazon and supply the online retailer with wholesale electricity.

MC subsidiaries Mitsubishi Corporation Energy Solutions Ltd. and ElectroRoute will also be involved. The former will manage construction of the solar power facilities and provide tech support, while the latter will forecast the facilities’ outputs and hedge power generation imbalances. The term of this Corporate PPA is approximately ten years, with commercial operations slated to commence in April 2023.

MC is aiming to double its 2019 renewable energy output by 2030 and completely eliminate fossil fuels and CO2 emissions from its power-generation portfolio by 2050. Amazon has set a target to use only renewable energies by 2025 and is now making moves to both develop them and source more green electricity.

This is the first such agreement with Amazon originating in Japan, while it will be MC’s second renewable-energy agreement with Amazon, following one signed earlier this year through which MC subsidiary Eneco will provide the retailer with power generated by the offshore wind farm, Hollande Kust Noord.

With increasing global pressure on both governments and businesses to address climate change, many companies are urgently looking for ways to shift to renewables and cut the greenhouse emissions generated by their operations.

Amazon announced in April this year that it was investing in nine new utility-scale wind and solar energy projects in the US, Canada and Europe, thereby becoming the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in Europe.