Shizen Energy has signed a 20-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Microsoft to provide renewable energy from a 25MWac/31MWdc solar farm in Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture, and it represents Microsoft’s first PPA in Japan.

JUWI Shizen Energy is currently constructing the 25-megawatt alternating current (MWac) solar power plant in Inuyama City, which will be the largest single asset solar power plant contracted under a virtual corporate PPA in Japan to reach financial close. The plant is scheduled to start operation in December 2023.

The development and construction of the project has been financed by non-recourse finance in the amount of 10.9 billion yen (US$72.95 million) from Société Générale. This is the first case of non-recourse project finance being used for the combination of a VPPA in Japan for the sale of non-fossil fuel certificates and long-term contracted electricity sales, including balancing.

Toshiba ESS will manage the electricity from a solar power plant developed and operated by Shizen Energy in Inuyama by selling the power to the market as an aggregator.

Shizen Energy will be responsible for overall coordination, financing and asset management of the project, while JSE will be in charge of development, engineering, procurement and construction, and JUWI Shizen Energy Operation will conduct operations and maintenance.

This project, the company says, is a major accomplishment for the Shizen Energy Group, which provides seamless, integrated solutions for renewable energy power plants and is the company’s first project in Japan financed by an international lender.