Japan targets floating wind farms for deep coastal waters

RWE Renewables and Kansai Electric Power have signed an agreement that will see the two companies “jointly study the feasibility of a large-scale floating offshore wind project” in the waters off the Japanese coast.

In a statement released on Monday, Sven Utermöhlen of RWE Renewables said his company sees “great potential for floating wind farms around the world, but especially in countries with deeper coastal waters, like Japan.”

Indeed, the project announced Monday is not the only one in Japan focused on floating offshore wind. In July, BW Ideol, which describes itself as a “clean technology company,” said it had signed a joint development agreement with energy company ENEOS Corporation to develop a “commercial-scale floating offshore wind farm” in the waters. off the Japanese coast.

In June, Japanese authorities said that a consortium made up of six companies – Toda Corporation, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric Power, ENEOS Corporation, INPEX Corporation and Chubu Electric Power – had been selected to develop a floating offshore wind farm of 16, 8 megawatts in the waters off the coast of Goto Town, Nagasaki Prefecture. There were no other bidders for the project.

Floating offshore wind turbines are different from bottom mounted offshore wind turbines that are rooted in the seabed. In contrast, RWE describes floating turbines as being “deployed above floating structures attached to the seabed with mooring lines and anchors”.

One of the advantages of floating turbines is that they can be installed in deeper water compared to stationary turbines. As Carbon Trust, a consulting firm, notes: “Sites farther from shore… tend to benefit from more consistent wind resources, which means that the floating wind can provide higher returns. “

Floating offshore wind is still in its early stages of development and costs will need to be reduced in the future. It wasn’t until 2017 that Norwegian energy giant Equinor – a major oil and gas player – opened Hywind Scotland, a 30-megawatt facility it calls “the first large-scale floating offshore wind farm. ladder”.

For its part, RWE, headquartered in Germany, is already undertaking work on three demonstration projects in Spain, the United States and Norway. It also examines whether offshore wind projects set at the bottom are feasible in parts of Japan.

In a separate announcement, also released on Monday, RWE said it would revamp its renewable energy business. Under the new structure, its offshore and onshore renewable energy activities will be managed separately. Utermöhlen will be responsible for RWE’s offshore wind division, with Silvia Ortín Rios leading onshore wind and solar photovoltaic.

The collaboration between RWE and Kansai Electric Power comes after Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released a draft of its sixth energy strategic plan last month.

According to research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, the project included “major changes” to the country’s targets for its power generation mix in fiscal year 2030.

“The draft targets include a significant increase in the shares of renewable and nuclear energy in the production mix and hydrogen / ammonia is mentioned for the first time,” said Lucy Cullen, senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie, in a release at the end of July. .

Such a plan is not without obstacles. “Our current outlook for renewables is 30% by 2030, so the proposed 36% renewables share is overstated,” Cullen said, referring to the project’s goal for renewables from have a 36% to 38% share in the electricity production mix. “This can only be possible with additional support from the government.”

Of the project’s nuclear target, Cullen called it “perhaps the most critical and uncertain component.”

“METI continues to support nuclear and maintains the previous target of 20-22%,” she said. “Safety regulations, continued opposition and rising costs continue to disrupt restarts to this day and make this an incredibly elusive goal. The prospects for a restart remain in our view very risky.”