
On December 27, 2024, J-POWER’s subsidiary J-Wind signed a 20-year virtual PPA with KDDI, the companies announced on January 30, 2025.
According to the statement, J-Wind will supply KDDI with non-fossil certificates generated at the 19.5MW New Minami Osumi Wind Farm in Minami Osumi Town, Kagoshima Prefecture, that is currently being developed on the site of the now-decommissioned 24.7MW Minami Osumi Wind Farm.
Construction work on the power plant is expected to begin within this fiscal year, i.e., before the end of March 2025, with commissioning scheduled for December 2027.
The power plant was FIT-certified in FY2020 when the FIT price for onshore wind replacement projects was 16 yen per kWh (vs. 18 yen per kWh for new projects). To enable the VPPA scheme, the asset will need to be converted from the FIT scheme to the newer FIP scheme.
KDDI plans to use the non-fossil certificates at its base station in Kyushu. “Both companies will continue considering expanding virtual PPAs, including to other regions,” said the statement.
While KDDI has been involved in the energy industry au Energy Holdings, which, through its subsidiaries is involved in power retail, aggregation, and renewable asset development, according to the Japan Energy Hub PPA database, this is the first time for the company to announce a major PPA with a third party. J-Wind signed its first virtual PPA in 2022, albeit with its parent J-POWER to trial operating the scheme and assess risks associated with it.