Japan Announces Successful Bids in Offshore Energy Auction
Three offshore wind farm operators were selected by Japan's ministries of industry and land on Wednesday. This decision marks the second phase of a public auction, with one of the chosen consortiums including Germany's RWE and its partners. Additionally, they indicated their intention to finalize the award for a fourth wind farm, also included in this tender, at a subsequent date.
This latest selection is part of the second significant phase under Japan's new legislation aimed at fostering wind energy development. The outcome was keenly observed by domestic and international energy enterprises, especially following the first phase, which saw Mitsubishi Corp. emerge as a dominant player.
Japan is witnessing a surge in its offshore wind energy sector. In line with its commitment to reduce carbon emissions, the Japanese government has set ambitious targets: to secure agreements for 10 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind farms by 2030, and to increase this capacity to as much as 45 GW by 2040.
In the latest round of selections, the consortium comprising JERA, Electric Power Development (J-Power), Itochu, and Tohoku Electric Power emerged victorious for a 315-megawatt (MW) wind farm located off the coast of Oga-Katagami-Akita in Akita Prefecture, in the northern part of Japan.
Another winning consortium, consisting of Mitsui & Co., RWE, and Osaka Gas, was awarded a 684 MW wind farm off the coast of Murakami-Tainai in Niigata Prefecture, situated in northern Japan.
The third consortium, made up of Sumitomo Corp and the renewable power unit of Tokyo Electric Power, secured a 420 MW wind farm located off the coast of Enoshima in Nagasaki Prefecture in southwestern Japan.
A total of three wind farm projects are scheduled to begin operating between June 2028 and August 2029, all of which utilize bottom-fixed technology.
For their respective projects, the JERA-led consortium and the Sumitomo group have chosen to utilize turbines manufactured by Vestas, while the Mitsui-led consortium plans to employ turbines from General Electric.
The bidding process for each of the three blocks attracted between two to four groups. The winners were selected based on the highest evaluation scores, which considered factors such as bidding price and business feasibility. Takahiro Ishii, the director of the wind energy policy office at the industry ministry, emphasized that these selections were made to support Japan's energy goals for 2030 and to minimize the financial burden of the renewable energy levy on the public.
The ministries have scheduled the announcement for the winner of the remaining 356 MW wind farm, located off the coast of Happo-Noshiro in Akita Prefecture, for March 2024. This delay is due to the need for revisions to the proposal by the potential operator, as there is an overlap in the timeline for port usage with another project in Akita