Microsoft Corp. has signed a new batch of renewable energy deals with Japan-based Shizen Energy Inc., the latest effort by a global technology company to secure clean electricity.
The world’s largest software maker sealed three 20-year solar power purchase agreements, or PPAs, with Shizen, two years since inking its first such deal, the Japanese company said in a statement Friday, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News. It brings Microsoft’s total long-term renewable energy commitment with the Fukuoka-based provider to 100 megawatts.
Global companies — especially big tech firms like Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc. — have been trying to secure clean-power sources to decarbonise their supply chains. Corporate PPAs, which are long-term contracts between buyers and sellers for renewable sources like solar and wind, have become a popular tool. In 2024, the volume of such deals from offsite energy sources increased in the Asia-Pacific region by 51% from the year before to 10.3 gigawatts, according to BloombergNEF data.
The three solar projects linked to Microsoft’s PPAs with Shizen have completed project financing, and are located in Japan’s Kyushu and Chugoku regions in the nation’s west, the person said. One of the projects is operating while the others are under construction, according to the person.
Microsoft signed its first long-term renewable deal in Japan in 2023, also with Shizen. The company has a target of cutting more carbon than it emits by 2030, and its contracted volume of clean power has increased 18-fold since 2020, according to its latest sustainability report.
Shizen was founded in 2011 in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster as Japan geared toward expanding solar and wind power. It had developed 1.2 gigawatts worth of projects globally as of 2024, and most recently signed a PPA with Alphabet Inc.’s Google for its data centre in Chiba prefecture.
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First Published: Oct 3, 2025 8:45 AM IST
