JR Kyushu signed its first virtual PPA, a 20-year deal with Sustech, the companies announced on May 29, 2025.
Under the agreement, the railway operator will procure about 3GWh of non-fossil certificates (NFCs) annually from Sustech’s solar power plants built for the PPA. According to the statement, it will continue to buy power from its current retailer and use the NFCs to decarbonize the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen, which connects Takeo-Onsen and Nagasaki and, at 66km, is Japan’s shortest Shinkansen line.
Supply is expected to begin in June 2026.
According to Japan Energy Hub’s PPA database, previously, JR Kyushu disclosed a 4MW off-site deal with GPSS Holdings and UPDATER, and two smaller, on-site agreements. However, the virtual PPA is the first used for an actual train line rather than stations and other buildings.
JR Kyushu follows JR East and JR West, both of which signed multiple PPAs to secure renewable power for their train lines. JR Hokkaido signed a 2.8MW off-site PPA with Harebare but planned to use the procured power at its stations rather than for train lines.
Sustech signed multiple PPAs, including an 80MW deal to develop rooftop solar at 180 Nitori stores and warehouses nationwide, with excess power sold using the company’s aggregation platform.
