ORIX began construction of two extra high-voltage grid-scale battery storage projects in Oita and Yamagata prefectures, its first funded using external investors’ capital, the company announced on September 30, 2026.
According to the statement, the 70MW/280MWh Yufu Power Storage Station in Yufu City, Oita Prefecture, is scheduled to begin commercial operation in 2028. The 75MW/309MWh Yonezawa Power Storage Station in Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, is expected to follow in 2030. Asset management will be handled by ORIX. Its group company ORIX Renewable Energy Management will be in charge of operations and maintenance (O&M).
Data from the Sustainable Open Innovation Initiative (SII), which administers METI’s grid-scale battery storage subsidy, suggests the two assets are the projects for which ORIX secured about 3.54 billion yen and 4 billion yen, respectively, in the scheme’s FY2025 round.
The sponsor holds 23.7% stakes in the projects, with the remaining 76.3% of each owned by two undisclosed investors and a Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking unit. Corporate registry records obtained by Japan Energy Hub suggest the projects are being developed through the special purpose companies Yufu Chikudensho LLC and Yonezawa Chikudensho LLC, both incorporated on February 4, 2026, with ORIX as managing member.
Yufu Power Storage Station and Yonezawa Power Storage Station follow the 48MW/113MWh Kinokawa Power Storage Station in Wakayama Prefecture that the company commissioned under a 50:50 joint venture with Kansai Electric Power in December 2024, and the long-term decarbonization auction-backed 134MW/548MWh Maibara-Koto Energy Storage Plant in Shiga Prefecture, which is expected to be commissioned in 2027.
