Tokyu Corp. and partners have revealed plans to supply Tokyu Railway with solar power under a corporate PPA, in a move that underscores the shift toward new-build renewable procurement in Japan’s corporate power market.
Tokyu Railway will procure electricity from around 98 MW (DC) of newly built solar power plants under a corporate PPA structure, with supply set to begin in fiscal 2026 and continue for 25 years.
The transport and property group said the share of traction electricity Tokyu Railway expects to source from newly built solar plants under the procurement framework represents the highest adoption ratio among Japan’s major private railway operators, based on its own assessment as of March 2026.
The projects will be developed by multiple special purpose companies (SPCs) backed by Tokyu Corp. and other partners at sites across Japan. The electricity will be used to support train operations on several train lines in the Tokyo metropolitan area, including the Toyoko, Meguro, Tokyu Shin-Yokohama, Den-en-toshi, Oimachi, Ikegami, and Kodomonokuni lines.
The solar plants are scheduled to come online in phases from April 2026 through the end of fiscal 2027. By fiscal 2028, the company expects about 30% of its annual traction power consumption – approximately 110 million kWh of 370 million kWh – to be sourced from newly developed renewable energy assets under the PPA.
The company has operated all train lines on 100% renewable electricity since April 2022 through retail electricity products. It said the new initiative will further support the build-out of additional renewable energy capacity and strengthen its role in supporting power infrastructure.
Tohoku Electric Power Co. and Tokyu Power Supply Co. will jointly manage electricity procurement and supply under the arrangement.
Tokyu Group and Tohoku Electric said they plan to expand collaboration on offsite corporate PPAs, solar development, and battery storage to support the growth of additional renewable energy and contribute to decarbonization.
Japan's railways are also testing perovskite solar on infrastructure. Central Japan Railway and Sekisui Chemical announced plans in January to pilot flexible perovskite solar panels on Tokaido Shinkansen noise barriers, signaling broader ambitions to integrate renewable generation across rail networks beyond procurement alone.
Japan's corporate PPA market has rapidly moved from niche to mainstream in recent years, with more than 500 publicly disclosed deals and over 2.5 GW of capacity by 2025. High fossil-fuel import costs, decarbonization pressure, and Japan's shift from feed-in tariff (FIT) subsidies toward market-based mechanisms – including the feed-in premium (FIP) scheme – are pushing companies toward long-term procurement. Recent deals spanning rail, telecoms, retail, and heavy industry signal that large-scale and hybrid structures are now the market's center of gravity.
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