Qenes to offer "short-term PPA service" on a yearly basis
Develop 50MW of new solar power plants each year
Image of a short-term off-site PPA contract
(Source: Q.ENEST Holdings)
Q.ENEST Holdings (Minato Ward, Tokyo), a Hanwha Japan Group company that handles renewable energy-related businesses, announced on April 7 that it will begin offering a short-term off-site PPA (power purchase agreement) model that allows contracts to be renewed on an annual basis with specific newly installed solar power sources.
In addition to physical-type off-site PPAs, in which both environmental value and electricity are sold together, it can also accommodate virtual-type off-site PPAs, in which only the environmental value is sold separately from the electricity.
The general off-site PPA model requires long-term contracts of 20 years or more, so it has mainly been adopted by large companies. This time, by utilizing solar power plants developed by the company's own group, it is possible to make short-term contracts in one-year increments. The target audience is companies that have refrained from adopting the system due to the bottleneck of long-term contracts, such as supply chains and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Q.ENEST Denki will supply domestic solar power plants owned by Q.ENEST Power LLC, a subsidiary of the company, to demand points through the transmission network of local power companies. It is also possible to change the plan from a virtual PPA to a physical PPA during the contract period, allowing customers to choose the optimal power procurement method in response to changes in the electricity market situation or their business strategies.
The areas where physical PPAs can be supplied and the power output are Tokyo (18MW), Chubu (26MW), Kansai (1.3MW), Shikoku (2MW), and Chugoku (15MW). In addition, although the power generation company is different, wind power PPAs can also be provided, covering the Tohoku and Hokkaido areas.
The short-term PPA service has already been provided to infrastructure companies since April, and is currently in negotiation with several other companies. The group has set a goal of developing new solar power plants with a capacity of 50MW per year, and expects to supply approximately 30MW to consumers through long-term and short-term PPAs in total. The group also plans to start commercializing and operating a grid storage battery business.
