Mitsubishi to supply solar power to Amazon in Japan

Japanese trading house Mitsubishi will supply solar power to US conglomerate Amazon in Japan as a part of its efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Mitsubishi today announced that it signed a term contract to supply solar power to Amazon for an undisclosed period. The project consists of more than 450 solar power locations currently under construction in the Tokyo metropolitan area and the Tohoku region, with maximum capacity totalling 22MW. The solar power stations will start commercial operation in 2022-23, Amazon said. It is Japan's largest solar power generation project utilising corporate power purchase agreements, it added.

Mitsubishi will have to buy electricity through the Japan Electric Power Exchange when the amount of solar power generated is not enough to meet that contracted to supply Amazon. Mitsubishi subsidiary ElectroRoute will hedge against price risks by using the electricity futures market and non-fossil energy certificates to avoid any volatility in wholesale prices.

Mitsubishi has set a goal of doubling its renewable energy output by 2030 compared with 2019, while aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Amazon has also set a goal of using all of its power consumption as renewable energy by 2030 and aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

By Reina Maeda