Japan Picks Five Promising Zones for Offshore Wind Farms

Yuka Obayashi
Friday, May 12, 2023

The Japanese government said on Friday it had chosen five sites off the coast of Hokkaido as "promising zones" for developing offshore wind farms, marking the second stage in a three-part selection process. 

The move comes as Japan looks to accelerate the development of renewable power to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. 

The newly designated promising zones are off Ishikari, Ganu-Minamishiribeshi, Shimamaki, Hiyama and Matsumae on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.

The five sites were chosen after a government study confirmed they were would have grid connection capability.

The five areas were upgraded from so-called "preparatory zone" which is the first of the three-stage selection process,

after the government defined the appropriate scale of output for the areas and provisionally secured the necessary grid capacity through conducting its own study, instead of having private power companies doing so.

The new study process, known as the "grid security scheme," was introduced last year to help to speed up the development of wind farms, an official at the industry ministry said.

"Promising zone" needs to be upgraded to "promotion zone," which meets all the criteria set by a local law, to become eligible for public auction.

The government will separately announce the result of its annual selection process for windfarm areas in the summer, the ministry official said. This will identify some areas as promotion zones, others as promising and some as preparatory.

Offshore wind is a key driver for Japan's expansion of renewable energy, but the auction process was suspended for nine months last year as the government needed to revise rules after criticism from businesses about the lack of clarity around the bid process following the first major round of auctions. 

The consortiums led by Mitsubishi Corp won all three areas in the first round.

(Reuters -  Reporting by Yuka Obayashi. Editing by Jane Merriman)

Categories: Energy Industry News Activity Asia Regulations Offshore Wind

Related Stories

AG&P LNG Grabs Stake in $500M LNG Terminal in South Vietnam

Turkish Oil Terminal Halts Russian Oil Business

Mermaid Sets Up Subsea Services JV in Vietnam

TotalEnergies Signs 16-Year LNG Supply Deal with Sembcorp

Valeura Buys Nong Yao Field’s FSO Aurora and Expands Wassana Drilling Campaign

Borr Drilling Secures $82M for Three Jack-up Rigs

QatarEnergy and Petronet Sign 20-Year LNG Supply Deal for India

CNOOC’s Oil Field in Bohai Sea Starts Production

TotalEnergies Picks Up OMV’s Upstream Gas Assets in Malaysia

Nebula Energy Acquires Majority Stake in AG&P LNG for $300M

Current News

Unique Group Acquires Subsea Innovation

ConocoPhillips Misses Quarterly Profit Estimates

Taliban Plan Regional Energy Trade Hub with Russian Oil in Mind

Russia Shipping Oil to North Korea Above UN Mandated Levels

Yinson Completes $1.3B Financing for Agogo FPSO

Sapura Energy Hooks Subsea Services Contract from Thai Oil Major Off Malaysia

Philippines' PXP Energy Eyes Petroleum Blocks in Non-Disputed Areas

BP Suspends Production at Azerbaijani Platform for Maintenance Works

SOVs – Analyzing Current, Future Demand Drivers

Decarbonization Offshore O&G: Navigating the Path Forward

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com