Norwegians and Japanese Bolster Offshore Wind Bond

The organisations, Norwegian Offshore Wind and Japan Wind Power Association (JWPA), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Tokyo which aims to get the business going between the countries’ offshore wind companies.

Both the Norwegian supply chain and developers are interested in the emerging Japanese market, Norwegian Offshore Wind said.

According to the organisation, the potential for contracts is large, especially within floating projects.

“From our experience with bottom fixed we know that those who are early in the market will end up being leading. Therefore, it is important for Norway and Japan to collaborate at an early stage on the development of floating offshore wind”, said Arvid Nesse, manager of Norwegian Offshore Wind.

Currently, the Norwegian organisation represents almost 370 companies, while JWPA represents 559 companies and corporations.

Japan currently has 190 MW of offshore wind power capacity, with the country’s first commercial-scale project being fully up and running since January this year.

Japan is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050 and has set a target of deploying 10 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 30-45 GW by 2040.

Some 344 MW of four projects (including one floating project, namely the 16.8 MW Goto floating wind farm) are under construction.

The winner of the 1.7 GW round 1 auction has been decided, 1.8 GW of round 2 is currently in the bidding process, and a further 16 projects are in the pipeline now, said the Norwegian Offshore Wind organisation.

Several Norwegian companies are in Japan this week for the Wind Expo in Tokyo. In May, a delegation from Japan is expected to the international event for the floating wind industry, Floating Wind Days in Haugesund, to be opened by the Norwegian prime minister.

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