``Zero-yen solar power'' on rooftops spreads across Kyushu;
Shin Idemitsu installs solar power in offices and warehouses using the PPA model (the photo is an example of installation at a logistics facility in Fukuoka Prefecture).
The "Power Purchase Agreement Model (PPA)", in which the roof of a building can be rented to a power generation company and solar panels can be installed at zero initial cost, has spread in Kyushu and Okinawa. Business operators sell the generated electricity to the roof lessor under a fixed-price long-term contract to recover their investment. As the development of "until power plants" using idle land is decreasing, it is becoming a new trump card for the expansion of solar power generation.
Shin Idemitsu (Fukuoka City), a major new electric power company in Kyushu, has started introducing solar power using PPA from April 2021 at stores of major retailer Trial Holdings (same). Power generation has already started at 20 stores, and will be expanded to 33 stores, which is 10% of the total number of trial stores, within FY2022. It is said that it can cover about 30% of the electricity used in the store. Instead of installing and managing the system, Shin Idemitsu asks customers to purchase electricity at a fixed price for 20 years to recover their investment.
The company started the PPA business in 2019 and aims to develop 50 mega solar power plants (50,000 kW) by 2024. The progress rate of the plan has already reached 40%. Mitsuru Fukushima, general manager of the Electric Power Business Division, said, "The rate is about 4 yen cheaper (per kilowatt-hour) than the standard rate plan for business use. We are also receiving more inquiries from small and medium-sized enterprises who are thinking about fixing or reducing their electricity bills."
It is starting to spread to general households as well. PPAs can purchase less electricity according to the amount of power they generate, while maintaining contracts with existing electricity retailers. The household sector accounts for 5% of carbon dioxide emissions, and can contribute to decarbonization.
In 2021, the Okinawa Electric Power Group started an electric power service for PPAs called Karirufu. In detached houses, solar power and storage batteries are installed as a set. For residential use, the number of contracts has already reached 340 with the aim of introducing 200 units a year. The contract period is 15 years. In accordance with the typhoon-prone climate, we also conduct regular inspections once a year and rush to respond to emergencies. There is also a plan for business establishments, and it is said that there are about 20 contracts.
Okinawa Electric Power's PPA service "Karurufu" will use 300 kilowatt hours of electricity per month as a guideline for introduction
Okiden plans to increase solar power with the goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050, but the increased introduction will place a burden on the power system. A person in charge of the company said, "We were particular about introducing a set with a storage battery in order to spread it as a set with self-consumption."
Local governments are also urging their introduction. In 2021, Yoshitomi Town in Fukuoka Prefecture signed an agreement with Sharing Energy Co., Ltd. (Minato, Tokyo), which provides photovoltaic power generation services, and the company will install solar power in the town within the framework of a PPA. It has already been installed in five public facilities, and will also be installed in more than 10 houses (within 30 years old) by the end of the year.
There are about 3,000 households in the town. The average installation cost is 1,200,000 yen per house, and if all households install it, the maximum investment will be 3,600,000,000 yen. The area of the town is the smallest among the towns in Kyushu, and it is difficult to find the construction site and budget for the power plant. Kaoru Wazai, head of the Future City Development Division, said, "While reducing the burden of financial resources, it will lead to the decarbonization of the region and the development of disaster-prevention power sources."
The government plans to increase the share of solar power in power generation from the current 9% to 14-16% by FY2030. However, power plants that are premised on the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) system have been affected by land shortages and FIT price cuts, and the FIT-approved amount has fallen to less than 10% of the peak (FY 2013) in FY2020.
According to an estimate by research firm Fuji Keizai (Tokyo/Chuo), the market for photovoltaic power generation systems introduced through PPAs and leases alone is expected to grow to about 250 billion yen in FY2035, a little less than 16 times that of FY2020. For business operators, there are few problems such as securing land and fluctuations in income and expenditure, making it easier to invest. PPAs are not only available on rooftops, but also utilize unused land outside buildings.
