Mitsubishi denies that it is 'set to quit' Japanese offshore wind projects
Reported withdrawal would follow wider pattern of developers pulling out of offshore wind projects worldwide amid challenging economic conditions, notes analyst
Mitsubishi has denied a report that consortia it is leading are set to quit three offshore wind projects in Japan, which would represent a major setback to the country's ambitions in the sector.
Local business daily Nikkei reported today that it has learned the Mitsubishi-led consortia are in the process of withdrawing from the projects off the coasts of Japan’s Chiba and Akita prefectures.
Mitsubishi has now issued a statement in which it says that such a move has not been announced by the company and that no decision has been made at this time.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has been trying to find a formula for rescuing these Round 1 projects, but is running into opposition from some of the companies outbid by Mitsubishi in that inaugural tender.
Writing on LinkedIn, Simon Engfred, lead APAC analyst at Aegir Insights, said that “low strike prices, inflation and increasing component prices eradicated project bankability,” despite talks with METI about “potential measures to salvage the projects.”
Should Mitsubishi pull the plug on the projects, he said that the "next step is likely to be a re-bidding process for the areas.”
While such a withdrawal would repesent a "major setback for the Japanese offshore wind market,” he continued that this “follows a global trend, where cancellation of projects have been recurring across markets.”
A third round saw an all-Japanese consortium made up of JERA, Green Power Investment and Tohoku Electric selected ahead of two other proposals for the 615MW Aomori project and another consortium made up of Marubeni, Kansai Electric, BP, Tokyo Gas and Marutaka see off three other proposals for the 450MW Yamagata project.
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