GWEC and JWPA Launch Offshore Wind Task Force in Japan

The task force will address key bottlenecks to the growth of Japan’s offshore wind industry such as providing input to streamline the regulatory process for project development and building a local supply chain.

It includes both local and global industry players and will engage with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) to share best practices, conduct studies and bring together the most relevant stakeholders to build the market.

The first deliverable of the task force will be a cost reduction study to explore the long-term cost reduction potential of the industry in Japan, which will be released in October.

JWPA President Jin Kato and Chair of GWEC’s Global Offshore Wind Task Force Alastair Dutton will chair the task force.

“We are confident that Japan will be one of the next big markets for offshore wind, with our forecasts seeing 10GW installed by 2030. However, a lot of work still needs to be done to create the right policy framework and enabling environment for a rapid build out of offshore wind,” said Ben Backwell, CEO at GWEC.

“By working with government and other key stakeholders, the industry can pave the way for future developments such as industrial-scale floating wind, which could open-up limitless power generation opportunities for Japan.”

As of December 2019, Japan has 65.6MW of offshore wind capacity, including five floating turbines totaling 19MW.

In April last year, a new law intended to facilitate the development of offshore wind projects off Japan became effective. The government has since identified eleven areas as potentially suitable for the development of offshore wind farms.