Orix launches 589 MWh BESS portfolio with investors in Japan

Tokyo-based global financial services group Orix Corporation has started construction on two battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in Japan, marking the first time it has developed power grid energy storage plants using third-party investment capital.

The portfolio includes the 70 MW / 280 MWh Yufu Energy Storage Plant in Yufu, Oita Prefecture and the 75 MW / 309 MWh Yonezawa Energy Storage Plant in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, for a combined capacity of 145 MW / 589 MWh.

According to Orix, the Yufu BESS is scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2028, while the Yonezawa facility is scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2030. Both sites will occupy approximately 10,000 square meters.

Orix will hold a 23.7% stake in the portfolio, with the remaining 76.3% owned by three external investors, including a consolidated subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation. The identities of the other two investors were not disclosed.

The company said it will provide asset management services related to the development and operation of the energy storage plants. An Orix Group company, Orix Renewable Energy Management Corporation, will oversee construction safety, operations and maintenance.

Orix first entered the battery storage sector in 2022.

In December 2024, it began commercial operations at the 48 MW / 113 MWh Kinokawa Energy Storage Plant in Wakayama Prefecture. Kinokawa was developed in a joint venture with Kansai Electric Power Company.

Earlier in that same year, the company started construction of the 134 MW / 548 MWh Maibara-Koto Energy Storage Plant in Shiga Prefecture, with commercial operation scheduled for 2027.