In order to promote offshore wind power in Japan, International energy firms such as Germany’s RWE to Spain’s Iberdrola, are urging Japan to beef up offshore wind power auctions and make investments more attractive, amid soaring installation costs as competition for suppliers grows worldwide.
As per reports, Japan is finding ways to ease its heavy dependence on energy imports from the Middle East and Russia and it is coming late to offshore wind. As per experts, it is taking a more cautious approach that puts it at a disadvantage.
“It’s a global race and we can’t look at it in isolation,” Jens Orfelt, President for offshore wind development for Asia-Pacific at RWE Renewables (RWEG.DE), told media, recently.
It is reported that Japan’s development process takes much longer than in Europe from turbine selection to the start of operations. “The longer the project timeline, the more uncertainty and risk arise,” said a report.
Japan needs about $18 billion to develop offshore wind farms by 2030, including already invested funds, and $250 billion by 2050, which includes hard-to-predict floating offshore wind costs, said Chris Wilkinson, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy.
As per reports, with less than 500 megawatts (MW) of installed offshore wind capacity now, Japan aims for projects of 10 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.
“If you want to create appetite from investors you need to propose larger plants,” said, Begona Diaz, Asia-Pacific area manager for offshore wind at Spain’s Iberdrola Renewables (IBE.MC).
Japan is reported to be behind Taiwan, which is offering 3 GW in its auctions, and South Korea, which is expanding in floating wind, a technology yet to be commercially launched in Japan.
