AEON and JERA Group Launch a New Joint Initiative Aimed at Achieving a Decarbonized Society: Supplying Surplus Power from Rooftop Solar Installations to AEON Stores in the Chubu Area2025/09/26
AEON CO., LTD. (“AEON”) and JERA Co., Inc. (“JERA”) have concluded a memorandum aimed at launching a new joint initiative aimed at achieving a decarbonized society.
Based on the AEON Decarbonization Vision formulated in 2018, AEON is engaged in a group-wide effort to achieve a decarbonized society by reducing total greenhouse gases emitted by its stores to zero by 2040, approaching the issue through both energy conservation and energy creation and from the perspectives of stores, products and logistics, and partnering with customers.
JERA, under its JERA Zero CO2 Emissions 2050 commitment, aims to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions from its operations by 2050 through a mix of renewable energy and zero-emissions thermal.
AEON and JERA Group, as part of AEON’s efforts to decarbonize, will supply surplus power from multiple rooftop solar installations (bundled by JERA Cross as an aggregator and delivered through Chubu Electric Power Miraiz Co., Inc.) to stores and offices operated by AEON Group company AEON Retail Co., Ltd. (“AEON Retail”) in the Chubu area*1 beginning 1 August 2025.
Because they utilize the roofs of existing buildings, rooftop solar installations require no additional land use or environmental destruction, avoiding the deforestation and other landscape or ecosystem impacts associated with ground-mounted solar. In addition, purchasing surplus power makes effective use of underutilized local renewable energy resources and can serve as a model for regional coexistence and a closed-loop economy.
As a first step, also incorporating newly operating solar installations in the Chubu area into the scheme will enable an estimated annual supply of 467,000 kWh, which is projected to cut annual CO2 emissions at AEON Retail by 197t-CO2*2 (equivalent to about 150 households).
Based on the memorandum, we also plan to roll out this project scheme at AEON stores and offices nationwide. In addition, JERA Group will continue to work with AEON not only to utilize surplus power from rooftop solar installations but also to propose a wide range of environmentally conscious decarbonization solutions incorporating rooftop solar installations that meet AEON’s standards. By helping to realize AEON’s Decarbonization Vision, JERA will contribute to improving the sustainability of its corporate activities.
AEON and JERA Group, through ongoing initiatives promoting the adoption and expansion of renewable energy, will continue to contribute to achieving a decarbonized society.
Overview of AEON
Based on the AEON Decarbonization Vision formulated in 2018, AEON is engaged in a group-wide effort to reduce the total greenhouse gases emitted by its stores to zero by 2040, approaching the issue through both energy conservation and energy creation and from the perspectives of stores, products and logistics, and partnering with customers. By December 2023, it had switched approximately 55% of the electricity used at its stores in Japan to renewable energy, achieving its AEON Decarbonization Vision interim objective for 2030 seven years in advance.*3
Overview of JERA and JERA Cross
JERA, under its JERA Zero CO2 Emissions 2050 commitment, aims to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions from its operations by 2050 through renewable energy and zero-emissions thermal. JERA Cross, as a one-stop GX partner for achieving corporate decarbonization, provides comprehensive support to drive the green transformation of businesses by backing the adoption of renewable energy and supplying 24/7 carbon-free energy.*4
JERA: https://www.jera.co.jp/
JERA Cross: https://www.jera-cross.com/
*1 The area supplied by Chubu Electric Power Grid Co., Inc. in Aichi, Mie, Gifu, Shizuoka, and Nagano prefectures (includes Shizuoka prefecture west of the Fuji River and excludes certain parts of Gifu and Mie prefectures).
*2 Calculated based on Chubu Electric Power Miraiz’s adjusted CO2 emission factor of 0.411kg-CO2/kWh for FY 2024.
*3 “AEON Establishes New Target for Achieving AEON Decarbonization Vision 2050: Aims to Adopt 50% Renewable Energy at Domestic Stores by 2030” (AEON CO., LTD. press release for July 2021)
*4 “24/7 carbon-free energy” is a name for electricity that emits no CO2 twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. In accordance with the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry’s “Guidelines for Retail Sales of Electricity,” this means that 100% of electricity demand is supplied through a mix of zero-CO2 emission power sources (renewable energy generation facilities and hydrogen power generation facilities) together with environmental value derived from the use of non-fossil certificates; it does not mean that no CO2 is emitted across the fuel lifecycle including production and transportation.