Factbox: How will Japan reach its ambitious goal in offshore wind energy?

Sojitz

30/11/2023 23:00

TOKYO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Japan aims to become the
world's top producer of offshore wind energy, joining the likes
of China and Britain in its transition to a zero-emission
economy, while boosting energy security. 
    Although Japanese companies have offshore wind assets in
countries from Taiwan to Belgium and Britain, they have yet to
build large-scale farms at home. 
    Japan plans to announce by the end of March the winners of a
second major round of offshore wind tenders to build 1.8
gigawatt (GW) of capacity in four areas. 
        
    HOW DOES JAPAN PLAN TO BOOST CAPACITY? 
    Japan's 136 megawatt (MW) of offshore wind capacity
installed by 2022 was a fraction of Britain's nearly 14 GW and
China's 31 GW, the Global Wind Energy Council says.
    It aims to have 10 GW by 2030, with up to 45 GW operational
by 2040, as it targets a share of 36% to 38% for renewables in
its electricity mix by the end of this decade, compared to about
20% now, in its race to be carbon neutral by 2050. 
    A Marubeni-led consortium  8002.T  launched Japan's first
large-scale commercial offshore wind operations at Noshiro port
(84 MW) and Akita port (55 MW) in late 2022 and early 2023. 
    Danish wind turbine maker Vestas  VWS.CO  provided
bottom-fixed turbines for Marubeni's farms. 
            
    WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF THE FIRST ROUND? 
    A Mitsubishi-led consortium  8058.T  won all three offshore
wind farm auctions in 2021 in the regions of Akita and Chiba,
with combined capacity of 1.7 GW and a target start-up date of
2028 to 2030. 
    All will have bottom-fixed structures. General Electric
 GE.N  will make 134 wind turbines, each of capacity 13 MW, to
be assembled and maintained by Japan's Toshiba  6502.T .
    The first round spurred interest by foreign companies in
entering the Japanese market, among them Denmark's Orsted
 ORSTED.CO , Germany's RWE  RWEG.DE  and Norway's Equinor
 EQNR.OL .
            
    WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SECOND ROUND?
    The government wrapped up its six-month auction for another
1.8 GW of capacity in four areas on June 30, with winners set to
be announced by the end of March 2024, or even as soon as
December. 
    The revised rules bar companies from revealing intent to
bid. 
    For the second round, the ministry of economy, trade and
industry (METI) set a bid price cap of 19 yen per kilowatt hour
(kWh), below the first round figure of 29 yen, except for
Enoshima, where construction challenges kept the ceiling at 29
yen. 
    JERA, Japan's top power generator, said it was running
environmental assessments of the Oga-Katagami-Akita project and
the Happo-Noshiro project.
    Other companies making assessments - an indication of a bid
- included Mitsui & Co  8031.T , Osaka Gas  9532.T , TEPCO
Renewable Power  9501.T , Itochu Corp  8001.T , Tokyo Gas
 9531.T , Marubeni and some foreigners, environmental ministry
documents show.     
    The government is gathering public opinion until Dec. 17 for
a third round of auctions to offer 1.05 GW on two offshore wind
farms.  
    
    WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR FLOATING OFFSHORE PLANTS?
    In 2021, the government selected a consortium of six
companies led by Toda Corp  1860.T  to build the 16.8 MW Goto
floating offshore wind farm in Nagasaki prefecture. It was the
only auction bidder for the small project. 
    In September, Toda and its partners flagged a two-year delay
in startup of the Goto project, to January 2026, because of
defects in a floating structure. 
    Japan is preparing a new roadmap for floating offshore wind
power by the end of March 2024.
    
    WHAT CONSTRAINTS AWAIT? 
    METI recommends a domestic share of 60% of the supply chain
by 2040. All major global renewable energy companies, from
Orsted and RWE to BP, Equinor and Iberdrola, have set up offices
in Japan. 
    GE Renewable Energy  GE.N  has teamed with Toshiba Energy
Systems & Solutions to make GE's Haliade-X offshore wind
turbines near Tokyo from 2026, turning out about 80 units a
year, or 1 GW annually.  
    The partnership is the sole nacelle supplier for the first
round.  

 (Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Yuka Obayashi; Editing by
Clarence Fernandez)
 ((ekaterina.golubkova@thomsonreuters.com;))