Madrid-based renewable energy company X-Elio has announced that it has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ, AMZN) for the full output of its 14-megawatt (MW) Funaki solar farm in Japan. The project, which has an alternating current (AC) capacity of 10 MW, began construction in 2024 and is expected to be operational by mid-2025. Once completed, it is projected to generate around 18,686 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity annually.
X-Elio has developed 379 MW of solar energy in Japan. The company also has 14 MW under construction and plans to develop an additional 160 MW in solar energy and 224 MW in battery storage.
Japan has been expanding its renewable energy capacity through various solar, wind, and energy storage projects. One of the largest solar power plants in the country is the 235-MW Setouchi Kirei Solar Power Plant in Okayama Prefecture. This facility, which was completed in 2018, uses more than 900,000 solar panels. Another large-scale solar project is the 150-MW SoftBank Tomatoh Abira Solar Park in Hokkaido, which became operational in 2020. Several floating solar power plants have also been developed to utilize water surfaces for energy production, including the Yamakura Dam Floating Solar Plant with a capacity of 13.7 MW.
Wind energy projects have been increasing, particularly in offshore areas. The Akita Noshiro Offshore Wind Farm, with a total capacity of 140 MW, started commercial operations in 2022. Onshore wind farms, such as the 82-MW Wind Farm Tsugaru in Aomori Prefecture, contribute to the country’s wind energy production.
Energy storage is also a growing area in Japan’s renewable energy sector. Companies are developing large-scale battery systems to stabilize the electricity grid. X-Elio’s planned 224 MW of battery storage projects are part of this trend. Other companies have launched similar projects, such as the 240-MW battery storage system in Hokkaido designed to store excess renewable energy.
Japan is also researching hydrogen production as part of its energy transition. The Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R), which has a production capacity of 10 MW, aims to generate hydrogen using renewable energy sources.
