Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Finances Citizen Windmills

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. has financed citizen-funded projects to build wind power generation plants, it announced on April 27, 2006. Megabanks have already started financing environmentally conscious companies, but Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is the first to finance such projects.

The bank financed part of the construction costs of two windmills in Akita City, Akita Prefecture in northern Japan; a second generator in Mukaihama named "Kantaro", operated by Akita Citizens' Wind Power Generation, a limited liability company (LLC), and a third generator in Iijima, "Kazekomachi", operated by Akita Future Energy, another LLC. Of 680 million yen (about US$ 5.8 million) in total project expenses, 403 million yen (about US$ 3.4 million) was solicited from citizens, and the rest was set to be covered by subsidies from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The bank has provided bridge loans until the subsidies are actually granted.

These two windmills started operating at the end of March 2006 and have power outputs of 1,500 KW each. The electricity generated is sold to Tohoku Electric Power Co. and profits are distributed to the investors. Such citizen-funded schemes started in Germany and Denmark. These windmills are the seventh and eighth of their kind in Japan, with the first generator coming online in Hokkaido in 2001.

NEDO granted the subsidies to the two citizens' organizations under its Regional New Energy Development Project FY 2005, while the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ established a loan section for the environment in autumn 2005, with an emphasis on the development of new energy and recycling programs.



Posted: 2006/07/18 10:43:12 AM
Japanese version