Japan chooses JRE, Ibedrola, Tohoku Electric for offshore wind farm (updated)

Tohoku Electric Power, Incorporated

22/03/2024 09:41

(Recasts, adds details, paragraph two onwards)
    By Yuka Obayashi and Katya Golubkova
       TOKYO, March 22 (Reuters) - The Japanese government has
chosen a consortium comprising Japan Renewable Energy, Iberdrola
Renewables and Tohoku Electric Power  9506.T  as the wind power
operator for an offshore block tendered in a second round of
auctions, it said on Friday.
    The 375-megawatt (MW) wind farm is located off the coast of
Happo-Noshiro in Akita prefecture in northern Japan and is part
of Japan's efforts to grow its offshore wind market to 10
gigawatt (GW) by 2030, and up to 45 GW by 2040.
    Danish wind turbine maker Vestas  VWS.CO  will provide
turbines for the Happo-Noshiro project that should be launched
in June 2029, the government's statement said.
    The second major public auctions round aims to build a total
of 1.8 GW of capacity across four blocks.
    Iberdrola is the second foreign company to win an offshore
wind farm in Japan following the auction.
    In December, the government announced German renewable
energy company RWE  RWEG.DE  was awarded another block, also in
partnership with local players, and made public the winners of
three other wind farms.
    Each of the three winning consortia comprised a trading
house and either an electricity or a gas utility. 
    RWE, the world's second-biggest offshore wind company, has
said it plans further expansions into Japan's offshore wind
sector after winning its first project, an executive told
Reuters in January, and also considers South Korea a promising
market.
    The selection process for the Happo-Noshiro block was
delayed due to the overlapping use of a port.

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EXPLAINER-Why the offshore wind power industry has hit
turbulence - Reuters News     ID:nL8N38I2RX 
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 (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi 
additional reporting by Katya Golubkova
Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Barbara Lewis)
 ((ran.kim@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4520-1228;))