I Grid Solutions plans to complete solar and battery storage installations under its green transformation agreement with Joyful Honda by June 2025, it said on May 13, 2025.
Under the partnership formed in 2022, i Grid Solutions was tasked with installing solar panels for on-site PPAs at the hardware store chain’s 11 locations across Kanto, including two in Gunma, three in Ibaraki, one in Saitama, four in Chiba, and one in Tokyo. It planned to co-locate batteries at all the locations except for one in Chiba.
Once fully operational, the PPA service provider will supply approximately 10GWh annually using a combined 9.4MW of solar and 4.4MWh of storage. The power will account for about 25% of the stores’ consumption.
To further expand on-site generation, the hardware store operator also plans to add solar carports to its stores. The Japan Energy Hub PPA database shows that in December 2024 it announced a PPA under which a joint venture between Shirokuma Power and NCS RE Capital plans to commission a 1.1MW system covering about 350 parking spaces at the Joyful Honda Chiba Newtown Store in July 2025.
I Grid Solutions is a growing on-site PPA provider that installed 271MW of solar across over 1,000 facilities as of the end of March 2025. It raised over 25 billion yen in debt to date, including a 3 billion yen loan from MUFG Bank in July 2024, which was followed by a formalized partnership to accelerate the company’s expansion with its sister company Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking’s backing signed in February 2025.
