Vena Energy has secured an award for its 46.8 MW NRE Nakagawa 2 Battery Storage Project in Japan’s FY2025 Long-Term Decarbonised Power Source Auction. The project received an awarded capacity of 46,828 kW and is being developed as a grid-connected battery energy storage system near Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture.
The project is particularly significant because it was selected through Japan’s Long-Term Decarbonised Power Source Auction, or LTDA, a procurement mechanism introduced in fiscal 2023 to encourage investment in decarbonised power infrastructure by improving long-term revenue visibility and supporting recovery of development and capital costs. The FY2025 results were published by the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators, or OCCTO, on May 13, 2026.
NRE Nakagawa 2 is classified by OCCTO as a lithium-ion battery energy storage project. The auction results show that it was one of 19 energy storage projects selected among 28 successful projects in the decarbonised power category. Across the winning storage projects, 551.47 MW was allocated to lithium-ion BESS, while 699.65 MW went to storage technologies other than lithium-ion batteries.
The broader auction also highlights the changing role of storage in Japan’s power system. Battery and other energy storage technologies accounted for about 1.25 GW of awarded capacity in the FY2025 round, making storage the largest category by number of successful projects. The procurement comes as Japan seeks greater flexibility to accommodate variable renewable generation while maintaining grid reliability.
For Vena Energy, the award adds to its growing Japanese battery portfolio. The company began commercial operations at its Hikone Battery Storage Project in 2025, and NRE Nakagawa 2 represents a further expansion of its grid-scale storage activities in the country. The company said the project is intended to contribute to power-system reliability and resilience while supporting the integration of renewable electricity.
The project is also notable for its location near Matsumoto, placing a large grid-connected storage asset within Nagano Prefecture rather than at a conventional renewable generation site. Its role will be centered on storing and dispatching electricity through the grid, allowing battery storage to function as flexible infrastructure alongside Japan’s broader decarbonisation efforts.
Japan's FY2025 auction introduced stricter requirements for battery storage projects compared with earlier rounds, including supply-chain restrictions on battery cells and requirements affecting storage performance. Analysis of the auction results shows that the tighter framework did not prevent storage from securing a substantial share of the awarded projects, with 19 storage projects selected in the decarbonised category.
Vena Energy said it will continue developing NRE Nakagawa 2 while engaging with local communities and considering the surrounding environment. The award moves the project beyond development planning into a more defined procurement and implementation pathway, although the announcement does not indicate that construction or commercial operation has begun.