Yonden Engineering and eight partners are working together on a 10MW/30MWh grid-scale battery storage facility in Sapporo City, Hokkaido, the Shikoku Electric Power-owned company announced on March 27, 2025. The “Hokkaido Sapporo Power Storage Station” is expected to come online in April 2027.
A portion of the project’s costs will be covered by an approximately 1 billion yen subsidy awarded through METI’s FY2024 program for the support of storage.
Yonden Engineering will handle engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) with the exception of civil work, which will be done by Aoki Asunaro Construction. The Shikoku EPCO group company will also provide operation and maintenance (O&M) support alongside Chubu Plant Service. GS Yuasa will supply and maintain battery systems.
WWB is responsible for earlier stage development work including grid connection arrangement and land acquisition. Japan Green Investment Corporation for Carbon Neutrality (JICN) will support fundraising.
Once operational, JR East and its subsidiary JR-EAST Energy Development will manage the asset’s power trading. Charge-discharge plans will be prepared using Mitsubishi Research Institute’s MERSOL service.
The project is being developed by Hokkaido Sapporo Chikuden, a special purpose company in which each of the companies owns an equity stake. The share each of the nine holds has not been disclosed.
While this is Yonden Engineering’s first grid-scale BESS, its parent Shikoku EPCO is working on a slightly larger, 12MW/36MWh asset in Ehime Prefecture jointly with CHC Japan. The Sapporo facility is the group’s first storage project in the renewables-rich Hokkaido.
