Kaihan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Shanghai-based China Triumph International Engineering (CTIEC) as it prepares to expand its renewables business from develop-to-hold solar projects to a build-to-sell model including grid-scale storage and wind, the company announced on June 24, 2025.
Under the MoU, the two companies plan to jointly develop and build 50MW of solar, 50MW of BESS, and 30MW of wind projects in Japan for sale to third parties, with no specific timeline for the long-term targets at this stage.
According to the statement, the companies will aim to complete 150 low-voltage solar projects totaling 7.4MWAC and five 2MW/8MWh grid-scale BESS facilities by March 2026. Kaihan is assessing opportunities nationwide with the exception of Kyushu for solar and Hokkaido for both. It plans to offer the completed power plants at 14 million yen each and storage assets at 550 million yen each.
The Japanese company will handle site selection, due diligence, grid connection, administrative processes, and asset sale negotiations. CTIEC, which lacks on-the-ground presence in the country, is expected to handle engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) in partnership with a Japan-based heavy machinery leasing company and to provide the funding required to build the projects.
The companies aim to sign a framework EPC agreement and formally begin the partnership in mid-July 2025.
Kaihan expanded from its core food and beverage business into renewable energy in October 2022. In 2023, its subsidiary KR Energy No. 1 signed a PPA with Amazon Data Services involving the development of 148 low-voltage solar power plants. Separately, on the same day the company announced its partnership with CTIEC, it also disclosed it would enter into grid-scale BESS operation through the acquisition of a 2MW/8MWh asset in Kagoshima Prefecture.
