Epson Starts Using Shinshu-Produced CO2-Free Electric Power: Electricity for Producing Print Chips and Other Products Procured with Chubu Electric Power from Nagano Hydroelectric Power Stations

Nagano Prefectural Hydroelectric Power Station (Miwa Power Station)

Starting April 01, 2020, Seiko Epson Corporation (3-3-5 Owa, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture; President: Minoru Usui; "Epson") will procure CO₂-free electric power produced in Shinshu using Nagano Prefectural hydroelectric power from Chubu Electric Power Miraiz Co., Inc. (1 Higashi-Shincho, Higashi-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture; President: Shinya Otani; "Chubu Electric Power Miraiz") for use at Epson's business facilities in Nagano Prefecture.

This procurement will allow Epson to use Shinshu Green Electricity, which is produced at hydroelectric power stations operated by the Nagano Prefecture Enterprise Bureau (692-2 Minami-Nagano-Habashita, Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture; Public Enterprise Administrator: Toru Kobayashi), to acquire 60% of the CO₂-free valued electricity derived from hydroelectric power stations, for which the company has entered into a long-term contract with Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (1 Higashi-shincho, Higashi-ku, Nagoya City; President: Satoru Katsuno) to obtain in the amount of 100 GWh annually beginning in 2018. This will enable Epson to reduce greenhouse gases as well as consume locally-produced energy. Epson is the first company to use Shinshu-produced electricity.

Epson's FY2020 annual procurement will be allocated for electricity used at three locations in Nagano Prefecture: Epson's Hirooka Office, Shiojiri Plant and its Head Office. The company will be able to utilize electricity that is effectively produced with 100% renewable energy in the development and production of PrecisionCore print chips (core components in inkjet printers) at the Hirooka Office, watches at the Shiojiri Plant, as well as for other products and processes.

In addition, Epson sees climate change and global warming as serious issues that our society is confronting. In seeking solutions to these problems, the company has been actively working to reduce the burden on the environment across its value chain, including improving the environment performance of its products and business activities, so as to reduce the environmental impact based on "efficient, compact and precision technologies," which are the company's technology wellsprings and within the context of Epson's "Environmental Vision 2050" to be achieved by 2050.

In the future as well, there will be advances achieved in using low carbon electric power suitable to the circumstances in countries and regions around the world as we all seek to create a low-carbon society.

Through their participation in the Shinshu Green Electricity Project, Epson, Chubu Electric Power Miraiz, and Nagano Prefecture Enterprise Bureau utilize low-carbon and locally-produced power as they advance this initiative aimed at alleviating the burden on the environment, strive to contribute to the community, and promote efforts to increase the use of renewable energies in Nagano Prefecture.

[Shinshu Green Electricity Project]

The aim of the Shinshu Green Electricity Project is to contribute to communities in Nagano Prefecture by utilizing hydroelectric power from 17 locations in Nagano Prefecture operated by the Nagano Prefecture Enterprise Bureau, including the Miwa Power Station and Haruchika Power Station, and market locally-produced CO₂-free electric power to customers in Nagano Prefecture and large metropolitan areas(announced on March 26, 2020).