Goldman Sachs to invest $2.9bn in Japan’s renewable energy sector

US-based investment banking giant Goldman Sachs plans to invest $2.9bn in Japanese renewable energy projects over the next five years.

The investment plans come following the price subsidies introduced by the country to boost clean energy sector in order to strike a balance post-Fukushima energy mix.

In 2012, the government introduced a scheme to offer premium to companies that generate electricity from renewable sources.

Further, it ordered power firms to acquire any renewable energy project put up on sale over the next 20 years.

Of the total investment, Goldman Sachs is planning to invest $126.7m in a solar power generation project, according to Sachs’ wholly owned subsidiary Japan Renewable Energy based in Tokyo.

The 40MW project located in Ibaraki prefecture is scheduled to start operation in January 2015, reported The Economic Times.

Ibaraki project is one of the many projects that the company has planned in the country.

Major utility firm Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) will procure electricity generated at the Ibaraki facility through a 20-year power purchase agreement.

Japan is currently seeking heavy investments in the renewable sector after its energy generation capacity fell as it closed nearly 48 nuclear reactors.

For the fiscal year ending March 2013, the country created about 1.39 million kw of renewable energy generation capacity, of which maximum was contributed by solar power projects.