Tokyo Electric to invest $18 billion in renewable energy over the next 10 years. P

The renewable power unit of the nation’s biggest utility plans to spend more than ¥2 trillion ($18 billion) over the next 10 years to boost its green power generation by as much as 70 percent.

The push by Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. (Tepco) comes as institutions in Japan are under increasing pressure to curb support for coal, both at home and abroad, and as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government seeks to bolster the role of clean power.

The unit, Tepco Renewable Power, plans to help fund its new ventures through a green bond offering that may exceed ¥10 billion and is likely to come before March, according to President Seiichi Fubasami.

Offshore wind and hydro generation are the unit’s primary focuses as it seeks to develop 7 gigawatts of green power capacity within the country and overseas in partnership with other companies.

“To cope with climate change, we are moving toward a carbon-free society,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “Our target is to make renewable energy a main source of power.”

Tepco Renewable Power currently has 170 renewable facilities with a total capacity of 9.96 gigawatts. Of the total, 9.91 gigawatts are from 165 hydropower plants, 30 megawatts are from three solar farms, and 21 megawatts come from two wind plants.

9 June 2020

IEEFA