While non-FIT non-fossil certificates are capped at ¥1.3/kWh in JEPX’s quarterly auctions, no such restriction applies to certificates traded through corporate PPAs. In the latest round of Digital Grid’s virtual PPA matching scheme, which provides one of the few publicly available windows into off-market environmental value pricing, successful matches averaged ¥2.4/kWh, about 85% above the JEPX cap.

METI proposed further lowering the bid cap for Primary, Secondary-1, and Composite balancing market products to ¥10/kW per 30 minutes from delivery on September 1, 2026, down from the ¥15/kW per 30 minutes introduced in March 2026. About 30% of BESS volume contracted in the Primary market between April and June 2026 cleared during 30-minute trading intervals with an average contracted price for the technology above the planned cap. The figure was 99% for VPP, although its absolute contracted volume was significantly smaller.

As a measure to improve their economics, offshore wind projects awarded in the 2nd and 3rd round tenders will be allowed to participate in the next long-term decarbonization auction if they forego their FIP payments. METI proposed a 500MW procurement cap for the technology, which would, under certain conditions on price order and overall participation volume across technologies, be enough for all five “zero-premium” projects awarded at ¥3/kWh to swap their FIP support for long-term capacity contracts.