Japan hands out three offshore wind licences

Japan has selected three consortiums to build offshore wind projects totaling 1.4 GW, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The three licences are among four offshore blocks under its second round of offshore wind auctions.

The first was block was won by a consortium consisting of JERA, Electric Power Development or J-Power, Itochu and Tohoku Electric Power for a 315-MW wind farm located off the coast of Oga-Katagami-Akita in Akita prefecture in northern Japan.

The second concession was awarded to a partnership between Mitsui & Co, Germany’s RWE and Osaka Gas and consists of developing a 684-MW wind farm off the coast of Murakami-Tainai in Niigata prefecture in northern Japan.

The last award was granted to Sumitomo Corporation and Tokyo Electric Power to build a 420-MW wind farm off the coast of Enoshima in Nagasaki prefecture in southwestern Japan.

The fourth concession on offer under the tender will be announced in March 2024, which consists of a 356-MW wind farm off the coast of Happo-Noshiro in Akita prefecture.

Japan intends to have 10 GW of offshore farm deals by 2030 and up to 45 GW of deals by 2040.