In January 2025, SMFL Mirai Partners started supplying power to YKK AP’s Namerikawa Plant in Namerikawa City, Toyama Prefecture, through a 4.77MWDC on-site PPA, the companies announced on February 18, 2025.
According to the statement, SMFL Mirai Partners built an 8,151-panel solar power plant on unused land adjacent to Namerikawa Plant. The power plant is expected to generate approximately 4.9GWh annually, accounting for approximately 23% of the factory’s consumption.
The new power plant is part of YKK AP’s broader efforts to shift its power consumption to renewables.
YKK AP previously signed at least one other PPA in Japan, involving a 1.7MWDC SMFL Mirai Partners solar project at the manufacturer’s Saitama Factory. YKK AP also installed a 110kWDC solar carport at its Rokkomado Factory in Hyogo Prefecture this January and plans to add additional 700kWDC of rooftop solar alongside a 1MW/3.3MWh BESS at its Kyushu Plant in Kumamoto Prefecture in March 2025.
Overall, YKK AP expects to be procuring power from 1.8MWDC/16.2MWAC of solar combined between its facilities in Japan and abroad.
The Japan Energy Hub PPA database shows that SMFL Mirai Partners has been involved in at least nine other PPAs. The latest project with YKK AP is its largest disclosed on-site deal to date, helped in part by the fact that it is a ground-mounted rather than rooftop project.
