Surprised by Cheap Clean Energy, Coal Stalwart Adds Renewables

Marubeni Corp., the Japanese trading house for whom coal makes up about a quarter of its power generation, never expected renewable energy prices to plunge as much as they have.

Seizing those falling costs, the company plans to add 1 gigawatt of clean energy over the next five years as it halves its coal-fired generation by 2030, according to Masumi Kakinoki, chief executive officer of the company’s electricity generation business.