Nagano Prefecture Energy Cost Reduction Subsidy (for SMEs)

Nagano Prefecture launched the "Energy Cost Reduction Subsidy for SMEs" under its FY2025 supplementary budget to help local small and medium enterprises facing soaring fuel and raw material prices to reduce energy costs, improve profitability, and contribute to the prefecture's Zero Carbon Strategy goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by FY2030. Funded by the national "Priority Support Local Revitalization Subsidy for Price Hike Response," the program is administered by Adecco Corporation under contract with the Nagano Prefecture SME GX Promotion Secretariat. Eligible applicants are SMEs with a business establishment in the prefecture, defined under the SME Support Act (Article 2, paragraph 1, items 1–3) or qualified SME associations under related laws. Companies headquartered outside Nagano can apply for one in-prefecture site only. Applicants whose main business is agriculture/forestry/fisheries, schools/social education, pharmaceutical retail, medical/welfare, or religious activities (except inns with hotel-business licenses) are excluded, as are organized-crime affiliates, adult-entertainment operators, those with unpaid national/prefectural taxes, and those receiving overlapping subsidies. Eligible expenses cover environmental equipment upgrades and installations completed between contract award and January 8, 2027: HVAC, ventilation, lighting, refrigeration, constant-temperature, cogeneration, electrical control, heating, production, building-attached equipment, solar PV under 50kW, energy management systems, and related construction and disposal costs. Equipment must meet Top Runner Standards or be on the SII Type-III equipment list. Consumption tax, leases, used equipment, land, transport, and warranty fees are excluded; two-vendor estimates are required for items over 500,000 yen excluding tax. The basic course offers up to 1/2 subsidy (cap 5 million yen, floor 500,000 yen); the promotion course offers up to 3/4 (cap 15 million yen, no floor). Generation equipment is capped at 40,000 yen per 1 kW of output. The promotion course requires submission of a 5th-period Business Activity Climate Change Plan with a ≥9% greenhouse-gas reduction target and registration in the Nagano SDGs Promotion Company scheme. Applications open March 16, 2026 and close September 30, 2026 (or earlier if budget is exhausted); projects must finish by January 8, 2027. Submissions are accepted only via the nagano-enecos.com web form — no paper or email.