Japan is looking for operators to run its two new offshore wind power projects that are capable of generating 1.05 gigawatts. The first project is located in the Sea of Japan, off Aomori prefecture, while the second one is situated off the coast of the town of Yusa, Yamagata prefecture.
The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism called on interested parties and developers to submit their proposals by July 19. This comes after a series of public and stakeholder discussions, aimed at formulating guidelines for the public recruitment of entities to develop offshore wind power generation projects, from November 2023 to December 2023.
The auction is raising eyebrows as the tender process in Japan is quite complex and complicated. Moreover, it can also be stretched to eight years. But offshore wind tender is the only way of building large-scale offshore wind project in the country.
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Japan’s Bet on Renewable Energy
Experts believe Japan’s offshore wind potential is huge. It can play a significant role in the country’s efforts to achieve renewable energy goals. The Japanese government estimates Japan’s long-term potential for offshore wind energy to be around 1,100 GW. As such, it has set targets and is working towards installing up to 45 GW of offshore wind power by 2040.
Institutional investors and the availability of financial mechanisms for funding offshore wind projects are fueling the growth of the Japanese offshore wind industry. Japan has several large-scale projects in the pipeline, with some in the development phase.
Japan Geography Core to RWE, Wind Farm
Japan is a hotspot for renewable energy, especially wind farms, owing to its coastline which stretches for almost 30,000 km. Offshore wind farms, as per the International Energy Agency, could supply the country with more than 8,000 TWh of energy per year.
But Japan has been slow in harvesting this renewable energy. A reports states that Japan’s exploitation of wind energy has only been a fraction of that of Denmark, Germany and the UK. Hiroshi Imamura, director and co-founder of Japan Wind Energy Consulting Inc., says the Japanese government has set the big target of 10 GW of offshore wind installation by 2030, and 30-40 GW by 2040.
However, there are challenges as well. Japan’s complex and mountainous terrain, its deep coastal waters, earthquakes, and typhoon winds make it difficult. But experts believe Japan could emerge as a key player in wind turbine technology.