au Renewable Energy will develop a 28MW/90MWh grid-scale battery storage facility in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, the company announced on April 22, 2025.
The project is expected to be commissioned in April 2027. Once operational, it will be aggregated by ENERES. Additionally, au Renewable Energy will work with Chubu Electric Power Grid on a demonstration project to confirm the feasibility of easing grid congestion in the Chubu TSO area.
Construction of the project will be subsidized through METI’s FY2024 subsidy for grid-scale storage, which covers between one and two thirds of eligible costs. au Renewable Energy was selected as one of the 27 recipients of the subsidy, securing about 2.8 billion yen.
au Renewable Energy, 80% owned by au Energy Holdings and 20% by Kyocera, was launched in 2023 to supply power to the former’s parent KDDI’s base stations, data centers, and other facilities. It partnered with multiple companies including Kikusui and Next Energy to develop solar power plants and is also developing a smaller, 2MW/5.6MWh BESS facility in Tochigi Prefecture.
The developer and ENERES aim to use the Mie project for gaining large-scale BESS business know-how and, ultimately, for helping KDDI reach carbon neutrality by FY2030 end through supplying stored solar power at night, according to the company.
