Turning "Impossible" into "Possible." How a 4-Year-Old Renewable Energy Startup Built Its First Power Plant

Do you know "who" builds solar power plants and "how" they are built?

Historically, the construction of power plants, which involves long-term planning and many stakeholders, has typically been led by major power companies and trading firms.

However, we at AsuSola are a "renewable energy startup" with only a dozen or so employees. Despite our small size, we successfully constructed a solar power plant in the Tohoku region at the end of January 2025 and began supplying electricity to NTT DOCOMO through Tohoku Electric Power.

How could a small, elite startup lead such a large-scale project? I asked our CEO, Mr. Yamazaki, about the journey to completing AsuSola's "first solar power plant" and the reasons behind its success.

The "First Power Plant" brought to life over two and a half years

—First, could you tell us about AsuSola's business?

AsuSola is a startup developing renewable energy projects. While our services are diverse, our core business is"renewable energy development" through the installation of solar power plants.

To put it simply, our job is to build power plants while consulting with landowners and local residents across the country, and then supply the renewable energy to corporations that need it. In recent years, interest in "decarbonized management" has grown, particularly among major companies, leading to an increased demand for renewable energy.

I founded this company out of a desire to meet these needs and contribute, even if just a little, to the realization of a decarbonized society.

—The "solar power plant" you have been working on since the company's founding was completed this January. Could you give us an overview of this two-and-a-half-year project?

In this project, ES Solar LLC, in which AsuSola has invested, entered into a "Corporate PPA*" with Tohoku Electric Power to supply renewable energy to NTT DOCOMO through them.

The first solar power plant was completed this January as part of a plan to build six solar power plants in the Tohoku area (Akita, Aomori, and Iwate prefectures).

For this project, AsuSola was responsible for overall management and the execution of specific measures, ranging from consultations with landowners, power companies, and the supply recipient, to financing and the actual construction of the power plant.

*The press release is here

*Corporate PPA: A contract concluded between a consumer (a company needing electricity, in this case, NTT DOCOMO) and a power producer (AsuSola) to procure renewable energy electricity over the long term. It is attracting attention both in Japan and overseas as a means to contribute to the expansion of renewable energy.

The preparation phase where communication with local residents is essential

—What specific processes did the two-and-a-half-year project go through to take shape?

The development process for renewable energy varies by company, but because we develop power from "zero," we start by searching for potential sites for power plants.

For this project, we first began researching suitable sites in the Tohoku area, and spent about a year negotiating with landowners and conducting various surveys. After that, we went through consultations with local governments and power companies, leading to the signing of a contract with NTT DOCOMO one year later. During that time, we also proceeded with financing from Hokuto Bank and began construction of the power plant in August 2024.

As I mentioned at the beginning, there are many companies that need electricity from renewable energy. Therefore, we have adopted a method offirst preparing the "foundation" for building a power plant and then proposing it to customers who have the need.

—So you start by selecting the land to build the power plant on. How do you approach the landowners?

Basically, we narrow down the most promising candidate sites and proceed with negotiations steadily.
At first, we pick out land suitable for business development based on maps and databases, and after carefully examining the location, we visit the landowners' homes directly.


—I didn't know you visited landowners one by one. Building a power plant really hinges on building relationships with local people, including the landowners, doesn't it?

That is correct.Communication with local people is one of the things we value most.

Even if we are dealing with inanimate land, everyone has their own "feelings" about their property. No matter how much we say it's "good for the environment," our project cannot move forward without building a relationship of trust with the local people. We made sure tocarefully repeat consultations while staying close to the local people, including the landowners.

The reason a startup succeeded in the project

—There must be a lot to do even after the candidate site for the power plant is decided, right?

That's right. While preparing the ground for the power plant, we proceed with consultations with power companies, supply-recipient companies, and financial institutions. Among these,financing is crucial. Unless we can get a loan from a bank, we cannot proceed with the construction of the power plant.
Large-scale project finance is usually handled by major power companies or trading firms. Honestly, it was a huge challenge for an unknown startup like AsuSola.

To prove the profitability of the business, we compiled the power plant's income and expenditure plans and operational policies without omission, and built relationships of trust with each party while resolving concerns one by one.

—I imagine there were quite a few hardships before the power plant took shape. Still, it is impressive that Mr. Yamazaki talks about those days so calmly.

It's not that I don't feel the difficulty. However, as long as I am involved in this business, I believe that"unforeseen challenges cannot be reduced to zero".
For example, in the construction phase of a power plant, various obstacles arise, such as environmental conditions and legal issues. Facing those challenges, the key to the project's success ishow well we can find "ways to solve them".

I feel that this project was realized because we had a strong will to "build a power plant ourselves," and our members proactively took on the challenges that arose in each process.

Aiming for the "expansion of renewable energy power generation" through steady accumulation

—Could you tell us about the concrete results brought about by the completion of the power plant?

Currently, the first power plant has just started transmitting electricity, but a total of six power plants are scheduled to be in operation for NTT DOCOMO in the Tohoku area.

The specific amount of renewable energy supplied will be over 10 GWh per year. This isequivalent to the annual electricity consumption of about 3,300 or more average households, and is expected to lead to a reduction of about 4,800 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

I am very happy that the first power plant, which has been our goal since the founding of AsuSola, has taken shape and that we are steadily contributing to the expansion of renewable energy.


—From the perspective of renewable energy business development, could you tell us about your future goals?

This project was a "zero-to-one" start from nothing at the time of founding, so it took a relatively long time. However, now, in parallel with the construction of the first power plant, we have been sowing seeds in other areas, so the development speed of renewable energy power plants will accelerate from here on.

This is just a passing point. While aiming to build 100 to 200 power plants, each worth several hundred million yen, within 5 years, we would like to continue contributing to the creation of a sustainable earth by expanding renewable energy businesses that coexist with the region.

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At AsuSola, we are looking for colleagues to take on challenges together toward the "full utilization of renewable energy." Why not contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society while taking on various challenges?

Applications for AsuSola Inc. are here