Sakura Internet, a TSE Prime-listed IT company, will explore building new data centers on the premises of JERA’s LNG-fired power plants under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on June 5, 2025.
The two companies are initially planning to discuss the possibility of siting data centers together with JERA’s assets in the Tokyo Bay area, with the possibility of expanding the collaboration to other regions at a later stage. In addition to Sakura Internet using the plants’ output to power the data centers, it is also considering using the cold energy released during LNG regasification for cooling.
JERA, which is Japan’s largest power generator, took over the ownership of TEPCO Fuel & Power’s and Chubu Electric Power’s thermal assets after being established as a joint venture between the two. It operates nine LNG-fired power plants totaling about 28GW in the Tokyo Bay area, including five in Chiba and four in Kanagawa. Futtsu Thermal Power Station is, at 5.16GW, the largest. It also owns numerous other thermal plants across its two parents’ TSO areas.
The MoU follows a report by The Nikkei about JERA having received inquiries about building new power plants near data centers and having data centers built near its existing power plants. It comes as Japan is considering the best way to ensure sufficient power supply for the expected growth in demand related to data center capacity growth, exemplified by the government’s establishment of the Public-Private Advisory Council on Watt-Bit Collaboration earlier this year.
