A circle is a polygon composed of an infinite number of sides: countless opportunities for sustainable growth and profit await those, like Marubeni, willing to look for them.The energy sector, though vital for combatting climate change, is only one of the myriad businesses in which a shosha operates. EDF Renewable Energy and Marubeni Corporation announced that they have signed an agreement under which Marubeni will acquire a 50% economic interest in the 205.5 MW Lakefield Wind Project subject to customary condition precedent. The plant would be the first-of-its-kind in Qatar. To that end, Marubeni has already developed a profitable and effective business model over the past two decades.In 2018, the company took a stake in WASSHA (Swahili for light), a Japanese startup that provides rental electronic lanterns charged by off-grid solar panels in Tanzania.Using its networks with leading companies and across various suppliers in the apparel industry, Marubeni hopes to transform – through Tyton’s textile recycling technology – the traditional linear supply chain of mass production, use, and disposal of textiles into a sustainable global circular supply chain of fashion.Last year it announced a capital alliance with US-based Tyton BioSciences, a startup which has developed a highly efficient and sustainable process to recycle textile materials.If these entities, with their vast network, operations, and knowhow, commit seriously to SDGs, the impact would be immeasurable.In partnership with Marubeni, WASSHA is looking to expand into other countries in the African continent, where about half of its 1.2bn population is said to not have access to power utility services.
It plans to enter into the retail electricity markets in the states of New York, California, and Texas, and is eyeing other countries and continents as potential markets as well.“Contributing to SDGs is in our DNA,” says Nobuhiro Yabe, Chief Sustainable Development Officer “Marubeni’s history has been one of anticipating social needs and issues and proactively delivering solutions. Marubeni will continue to facilitate partnerships with start-up companies to create new value and to provide solutions to social issues. With strengths in renewable energy supply and highly flexible service, SmartestEnergy is achieving rapid growth that makes it a serious competitor to the Big Six energy companies in the UK. Last year, SEL launched its first overseas operations in the US. The project was awarded to a consortium of Total (49 percent) and Japan’s Marubeni (51 percent) as the result of the country’s first solar tender. This allowed Marubeni to, among other things, internally balance the supply and demand of power retail sales through power sourced from Marubeni-owned plants. The World Bank estimates annual sales in the market will grow to as much as USD 8bn globally by 2022, compared to USD 1bn in 2016, much of it driven by African demand.Sogo shosha operate astoundingly diversified businesses comprising thousands of suppliers in hundreds of countries while directly and indirectly employing hundreds of thousands. Marubeni has thus accumulated ample skill in supply and demand management, and has an impressive track record of power projects.Marubeni promotes community-based power businesses in regions of Africa that do not yet have access to electricity through our business with WASSHA Inc, a company which uses solar panels and chargeable lanterns to supply portable power to various regions of Tanzania, where roughly 76% of the population is still without access to electricity. WePower is also planning to expand its business in other countries and regions as well. Issued by Manulife Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited.The affordable lanterns which WASSHA offers at around JPY25 per day through local agents provide multiple benefits. Floating solar projects like Changhua offer a number of advantages.
Marubeni entered the Portuguese domestic electricity supply business in October 2013, by acquiring 50% of TrustEnergy, a power generation asset portfolio with the second highest generation capacity in the country, from Engie (formerly GDF Suez). The project was awarded to a consortium of Total (49 percent) and Japan’s Marubeni (51 percent) as the result of the country’s first solar tender. Before the decision to divest, Marubeni had continued investments in coal, one of the primary culprits behind global warming, even as it poured billions into renewable energy. The news follows the start of commercial operations last year for another solar power plant in the United Arab Emirates, a 1,177MW capacity plant in which Marubeni has 20 per cent ownership.Marubeni fully owns and manages a total of 140,000 hectares of tree plantations across Australia and Indonesia. We will increase this to approximately 20% by 2023. They can provide a better energy yield because water has a cooling effect on the panels and they also overcome land constraints associated with the traditional solar power plant installations.