Corporate PPAs are big business these days. Developers, offtakers, traders, and utilities are all in to secure long-term, price-stable electricity that’s generated from renewable energy. First and foremost, this means they need to hire people who can formulate, facilitate and structure CPPA deals.

The PPA sector is still a young industry, however, and there are a limited number of professionals with actual successful experience, which in turn has created high demand for top specialists in a low supply market. Let’s take a look at the kinds of roles and backgrounds that are most in demand.

Large, publicly-listed companies have long been chasing renewable energy as part of their ESG strategy. Japan is home to more RE100 companies (firms committing to using 100% renewable energy) than any other country, with the exception of the U.S. Advanced software platforms, such as SAP Product Footprint Management, allow large companies to record and track the behavior of their supply chain and measure Scope 3 emissions. The result is that suppliers of materials, parts, and services to large manufacturers, such as Toyota, are now under the microscope and feel the pressure to procure clean energy.

The current energy crisis with LNG shortages, and spot electricity prices on occasion hitting ¥200/ kWh, are further intensifying demand for corporate power purchasing deals, or CPPA, which all support energy security, especially for critical infrastructure such as data centers. Essentially, there has never been more demand for the clean, long-term, secure energy supply that a CPPA provides. These companies seek talent who understand energy procurement, have a network of developers/ suppliers, and who possess strong negotiating skills to secure the best possible terms for the deal.