RWE & Partners Deal for 684 MW Offshore Wind Power Venture

In a recent development, the German energy company RWE has been chosen as part of a group, including Mitsui & Co and Osaka Gas, to construct and manage an offshore wind project situated off the shores near Murakami and Tainai in Japan.

This decision aligns with Japan's strategic plan to enhance its offshore wind energy capacity. The country aims to achieve 10 GW of offshore wind power by the year 2030, with a minimum of 5.7 GW operational by then. Additionally, Japan has set a more ambitious goal of having between 30 and 45 GW by 2040, in its pursuit to attain net-zero emissions by 2050.

Markus Krebber, the Chief Executive Officer of RWE, expressed his pride and gratitude for their selection in this venture. He emphasized the growing significance of offshore wind energy in Japan and conveyed his appreciation for the opportunity to collaborate with Japanese partners in this government-endorsed project.

The wind farm, which signifies RWE's inaugural venture into offshore wind energy in Japan and the broader Asia-Pacific region, is projected to have a total capacity of 684 MW. It will feature 38 bottom-fixed wind turbines and is expected to be fully operational by June 2029.

RWE's project is one of three granted development rights for wind farms in Japan by different consortiums. The first, comprising JERA, Electric Power Development, Itochu, and Tohoku Electric Power, has been authorized to develop a 315 MW wind farm in the northern Japanese region of Oga-Katagami-Akita in Akita prefecture. The second, a collaboration between Sumitomo and Tokyo Electric Power, will work on a 420 MW wind farm located off the coast of Enoshima in Nagasaki prefecture, in the southwest of Japan.