Japanese megabank to use solar panels on sheep farm to cut emissions

Photorealistic photo of planned solar panels and sheep pasture in Shiranuka, Hokkaido. (Photo courtesy of Machiokoshi Energy Co.)(Kyodo)

OSAKA (Kyodo) — A Japanese megabank is tapping renewable energy to power buildings housing its domestic branches, likely in what will be the country’s first solar panel farm to be located on a sheep pasture.

As part of its efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, MUFG Bank has signed an agreement with Osaka Gas Co. and Machiokoshi Energy Co. under which the bank will use electricity generated at an 89-hectare pasture in the coastal city of Shiranuka, Hokkaido.

The farm is expected to produce about 19 gigawatt-hours per year, enough to power about 4,000 Japanese households a year.

Machiokoshi Energy, a local electricity generation company based in Hyogo Prefecture, says “solar grazing” is a win-win for sheep and solar panels.

The company said the sheep would likely reduce operating costs by eating weeds that could negatively impact the efficiency of the solar panels, while the shade under the solar panels would allow them to escape the sun and graze more often.

Under the tripartite agreement signed on July 26, Osaka Gas will buy all the energy generated and distribute it to MUFG Bank for 20 years in the form of electricity with a “non-fossil certificate” confirming that it comes from a renewable source.

When deliveries begin in July 2026, MUFG Bank intends to use them to power branches located in rented properties, with the aim of reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions by around 20 percent. The company has already switched its energy supply to renewable sources for its buildings.

Although growing crops such as potatoes under solar panels has become increasingly popular in recent years, Machiokoshi Energy says the combination of pasture farming with solar farming is likely to be a first in Japan.

“There is a lot of unused land in Hokkaido, but it is easy to run into deficit when reopening farms,” said Shoji Numata, the company’s head. “By combining livestock farming with solar power generation, you can more than double your income,” he added.