Japan’s Industry and Land Ministries have selected JERA and a BP-led consortium to operate two offshore wind farms in the country’s third auction round.
The JERA-led consortium, which includes Green Power Investment and Tohoku Electric Power, won the rights to develop a 615MW offshore wind farm off the Aomori Prefecture. This project will feature 41 15MW turbines, making it one of the largest offshore wind farms in Japan.
Meanwhile, BP and its partners — Marubeni, Kansai Electric Power, Tokyo Gas, and Marutaka — secured the 450MW wind farm off Yamagata Prefecture, marking BP’s entry into the Japanese offshore wind market. This project will consist of 30 15MW turbines.
Both projects are bottom-fixed and are scheduled to start operations in 2030, with Siemens Gamesa supplying the turbines.
This auction is part of Japan’s broader strategy to boost offshore wind capacity, with a target of 10GW by 2030 and up to 45GW by 2040. The government envisions renewables contributing up to 50% of the electricity mix by fiscal 2040. Earlier this month, BP and JERA also announced a merger of their offshore wind businesses to form a joint venture.
