自然電力グループ

Kenedix, Inc. and Shizen Energy Inc. have reached an agreement to jointly establish and manage the Kenedix Shizen Energy Fund. This fund will invest in renewable energy power plants in Japan, primarily focusing on solar power plants. An investment agreement has been signed today with several financial companies in Japan that will invest in this fund.

1. Profile of the Fund

2. Objective
In the “Kenedix Partners in Growth 2017” medium-term management plan that was established and announced on February 10, 2015, adding infrastructure and other new categories of assets under management is one of the initiatives for achieving growth in stable earnings centered on the Asset Management Business. Projects for renewable energy power plants are a new asset category for Kenedix. Establishing and managing the fund with Shizen Energy which is one of the leading companies in the renewable energy industry in Japan, adds a new sector to the Kenedix Asset Management Business and is expected to strengthen its profit structure.

Since its establishment in 2011, Shizen Energy has been involved with, and currently owning 14 solar power plant projects in Japan. Moreover, the Shizen Energy Group has participated in the planning, development, EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) and O&M (operation and maintenance) of solar power plant projects amounting to approximately 700 megawatts (as of the end of 2015). In addition to solar power plant projects, Shizen Energy’s activities include wind, small hydroelectric and other types of renewable power plant projects, aiming to contribute to an increase of the renewable energy power generation in Japan.　Shizen Energy also focuses on developing projects in cooperation with local communities. For example, in the city of Koshi in Kumamoto prefecture, Shizen Energy operates the Koshi Agriculture Boosting Project that has been adopted by an interest-free loan program (Project on Early Establishment of a Renewable Energy Model that Contributes to Local Communities *provisional translation) from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan in 2014 on the condition that a part of the project revenues will be spent on development of agriculture in the local region and for local use. With the backing of Kenedix, which is Japan’s largest independent real estate asset management company, and Kenedix Shizen Energy Fund, Shizen Energy aims to spread high-quality renewable energy power plants that contribute to regional development from a long-term standpoint.