Contributing to society through the expansion of renewable energy as a green energy platform provider

At Sumitomo Corporation, solar power projects in Japan such as these are led by Power Frontier Business Unit, which belongs to Energy Innovation Initiative Strategic Business Unit (SBU). The Japanese government has set a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. In line with this objective, Sumitomo Corporation reorganized its structure in 2021 and launched “Energy Innovation Initiative”. Power Frontier Business Unit is promoting green power projects for corporate clients. Green energy—generated from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind—is attracting keen interest as an environmentally friendly form of electricity generated without CO₂ emissions, thereby helping combat global warming.

One of the company’s key strengths is its ability to offer end-to-end support across the entire green energy supply chain—from generation and supply to end users. The initiative with Sun Trinity is upstream, while projects with AEON Mall and Hiroshima University are downstream. In the midstream segment, the company has established ENEXIA, Summit Energy, and OPTECH ENERGY, all headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, to ensure a stable power supply. By supporting decarbonization across all phases—from upstream to downstream—Sumitomo Corporation truly serves as a “green energy platformer.”

At the heart of the solar power generation business is a corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) scheme. A corporate PPA is a long-term contract between an electricity user and a power producer. Under a corporate PPA, an electricity user purchases renewable energy generated by a power generation facility such as, a solar power plant, at a fixed price for the long term.

Cases mentioned in the article are based on the corporate PPA scheme. Power Frontier Business Unit focuses on enabling electricity users to benefit from environmental value, that is, the environmental benefit of not emitting carbon dioxide, through the corporate PPAs concluded with them. This corporate PPA scheme is positioned as a procurement method with high environmental value.

Sumitomo Corporation aims to support the decarbonization of Scope 2 emissions in businesses by providing corporate PPA services to electricity users. The GHG Protocol, an international standard for calculating and reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, categorizes emissions into Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3. Scope 2 refers to indirect GHG emissions from the consumption of electricity, heat, or steam supplied by other companies. If the electricity supplied is green electricity, the GHG emissions are zero.

Furthermore, through corporate customers, decarbonization initiatives are publicized to their employees and local residents. In the case of AEON Mall, not only does the use of solar carports to generate electricity raise awareness of the green electricity initiative, but on sunny days, the carports provide shade, and on rainy days, they offer protection from rain, thereby enhancing convenience for parking lot users. The initiative of using parking lot roofs for renewable energy generation and local consumption, without harming the natural environment, receives positive feedback from employees and local residents, fostering a shared effort toward a decarbonized society uniting businesses and society at large.