Kuraray Co., Ltd. recently announced that Kuraray Holdings U.S.A. Inc. has formed a 10-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA)¹ starting in October 2025 through Tokyo Gas America Ltd. Tokyo Gas America is a U.S.-based subsidiary of TOKYO GAS CO., LTD. The entity has a goal of shifting to renewable energy in the United States.

Under the VPPA, this solar power project owned by Tokyo Gas America, located in Wharton County, Texas, will provide renewable energy certificates² equivalent to 300 GWh on an annual basis. Kuraray anticipates that this move will reduce the Kuraray Group’s GHG emissions in the United States by approximately 70%, and reduce the entire group’s electricity use by approximately 40%.

The Kuraray Group has set an ambitious new emissions target of reducing emissions by 63% by 2035 compared to 2021 levels. The group reports that it will steadily implement self-driven measures to reduce emissions, including shifting to renewable electricity by improving energy conservation and efficiency at production bases, switching to natural gas to for in-house power generation, as well as establishing carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies. Simultaneously, It will work with suppliers to promote a transition in utility fuels to those derived from new, clean energy sources to achieve this goal. 

Learn more about Kuraray Group at www.kuraray.com/global-en.

1. A contract in which environmental value, in the form of renewable energy certificates, is purchased without directly receiving electricity from a renewable energy company.

2. A renewable energy certificate documents the environmental value and attributes of electricity derived from renewable sources to be traded separately from the direct provision of electricity.