Jiyu no Mori Gakuen x Minna Denryoku: Launching a Renewable Energy Project Where the 'School Becomes a Power Plant'

UPDATER Co., Ltd. (Location: Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Eiji Oishi), aiming to update society from a lifestyle perspective, operates 'Minna Denryoku' (Everyone's Electricity), a 100% renewable energy*1 retail electricity service. In collaboration with the private school corporation Jiyu no Mori Gakuen in Hanno City, Saitama Prefecture, they launched the 'Jiyu no Mori Gakuen Renewable Energy Project'—a personal electricity plan utilizing the school's rooftop solar power—on Thursday, April 9, 2026. This project realizes the 'social utilization of renewable energy', allowing general households to 'support environmental education' by receiving surplus power procured by 'Minna Denryoku' from the rooftop solar power plant of Jiyu no Mori Gakuen.

Background As the adoption of renewable energy progresses globally as a countermeasure against climate change, efforts toward decarbonization are rapidly expanding in Japan among companies, local governments, and educational institutions (*2, *3).

In particular, for school facilities, in addition to their role as regional disaster prevention hubs, the installation of renewable energy equipment such as solar power generation is strongly promoted as a 'place of environmental education' where students, who will lead the next generation, learn the mechanisms of a carbon-neutral society (*4, *5). Jiyu no Mori Gakuen, located in Hanno City, Saitama Prefecture, embraces the philosophy of 'education for human independence and freedom' and emphasizes education that addresses natural environments and social issues. In 2022, in collaboration with Ohisama PPA Co., Ltd. and UPDATER Co., Ltd. (Minna Denryoku), they installed a 110kW solar power generation facility and began self-supplying renewable electricity through an on-site PPA mechanism.

This project utilizes this rooftop solar power plant. It further advances the initiative from merely consuming energy to producing it, and now challenges the role of supplying energy to society. Furthermore, utilizing a system where 'Minna Denryoku' users nationwide can 'support' this power plant, 100 yen per month per user household will be allocated to support environmental education at Jiyu no Mori Gakuen. The electricity utilized in this initiative targets the surplus power generated after self-consumption within the school, carried out as an extension of their educational activities. This creates a system where the everyday action of using electricity leads not only to climate change countermeasures but also to 'supporting next-generation education'. Since renewable energy power plants are small-scale, decentralized energy sources, they can be utilized not only for climate change but also for solving and supporting various social issues. We believe this project serves as a case study for 'phased GX', which gradually deepens renewable energy efforts, and the 'social utilization of renewable energy', addressing social issues beyond climate change.

*1 By combining electricity derived from renewable energy with the environmental value of non-fossil certificates designated as renewable energy, we supply 100% renewable energy electricity (CO2 emissions are also zero). *2 International Renewable Energy Agency | March 2024 | Renewable Capacity Statistics 2024 *3 Agency for Natural Resources and Energy | 2023 | Energy White Paper 2023