Tokyo, 20 June 2022 – Today, Aquila Capital, a sustainable investment management and asset development company, based in Hamburg, Germany, and with a local office in Tokyo, announces its acquisition of a 7.9 MWp solar PV project in Kimitsu, Chiba prefecture, Japan. All development permits have been secured and the project is now ready-to-build. The company will lead key contractor selection for construction as well as O&M. This investment attracted Aquila Capital because of the high feed in tariff (FIT) and the low curtailment risk the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) location provided.

Operating in-market since 2012 and as part of its ongoing global strategy to support the energy transition, Aquila Capital is committed to developing clean energy assets in Japan including solar PV, wind and BESS projects. Aquila Capital entered a strategic partnership with Daiwa Energy & Infrastructure Co. Ltd. (DEI) in 2019 further strengthening the ties and commitments to Japan and Asia Pacific at large.

Alexander Lenz, CEO, Aquila Capital Asia Pacific and President, Aquila Capital Japan: “We are excited to expand our investments in Japan and build on our prior development and asset management experience here. Japan’s investment policies have always mirrored its ambitious renewable energy goals and as it moves to a feed-in-premium and corporate power purchase agreement model, we remain poised and ready to invest in and develop the solar, wind and battery storage projects that are needed to support the next era in the country’s clean energy transition – this decade and beyond; today’s announcement is a small but important step in that journey.”

As of 31^st March 2022, Japan introduced a feed-in-premium model, which is favoured by more mature clean energy markets such as Germany. Continued growth in renewable energy projects is expected to support the country’s efforts to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Masahiko Inoue, Project Development Director, Aquila Capital Japan added: “We are excited to see this project through to completion and are keen and ready to take more on as Japan ramps up its renewables build-out to meet the emissions reduction targets. Our team’s deep technical knowledge and local know-how bolstered by our company’s extensive international asset development expertise positions us well to take on future development stage projects – these are not only where we can add the most value but what we excel at.”

About Aquila Capital:

Aquila Capital is an investment and asset development company focused on generating and managing essential assets on behalf of its clients. By investing in clean energy and sustainable infrastructure, Aquila Capital contributes to the global energy transition and strengthens the world’s infrastructure backbone. The company initiates, develops, and manages essential assets along the entire value chain and lifetime. Currently, Aquila Capital manages nearly EUR 14 billion on behalf of institutional investors worldwide. Our primary objective is to generate performance for our clients by managing the complexity of essential assets.

Today, the company manages wind energy, solar PV and hydropower assets of more than 12 GW capacity. Additionally, 1.8 million square metres of sustainable real estate and green logistics projects have been completed or are under development. Aquila Capital also invests in energy efficiency, carbon forestry, and data centres. Aquila Capital has been carbon neutral since 2006. Sustainability has always been part of our value system and is an integral part of our investment strategies, processes, and management of our assets. The company has around 600 employees from 48 nations, operating in 16 offices in 15 countries worldwide. Since 2019, the company has had a strategic partnership with Daiwa Energy & Infrastructure Co. Ltd.

In Asia Pacific, Aquila’s fast-growing team of over 30 professionals across four offices (Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, and New Zealand) focuses on developing and constructing solar PV, wind power, BESS and other sustainable assets across the region.