Mitsubishi commissions 45 MW of solar for convenience stores

Some 3,600 Japanese convenience stores will be powered by solar from April, after global brand Mitsubishi announced it will commission 45 MW of new solar generation capacity.

The clean electricity will be generated at unspecified locations constructed by Japanese solar developer West Holdings Corp and will supply power to stores in the Lawson chain which is controlled by Mitsubishi.

A press release issued by Mitsubishi yesterday said the company eventually plans to provide solar power to 8,200 Lawson outlets across the nation. The initial solar farms will supply stores in the Kanto-Koshin district and the prefectures of Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, and Mie.

The planned solar facilities were described by Mitsubishi as “among the largest in Japan built through an off-site PPA [power purchase agreement].”

The convenience store business said the plan is part of its Lawson Blue Challenge 2050, by which it wants to halve the CO₂ emissions of its outlets – versus 2013 levels – this decade, and eliminate them entirely by mid century.