Japan woos Vestas in drive to attract Western wind giants
Wind manufacturer and Japanese government agree cooperation that could see investment in supply chain
Vestas is set for a bigger role in Japan’s wind power plans as the country's government seeks to attract investment from Western players.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Danish turbine maker today agreed to work together under a “public-private cooperative framework for wind power”.
“The initiative aims to promote a continuous and stable large-scale deployment of offshore and onshore wind energy in Japan, and to explore the further investment potential in domestic wind turbine supply chain development,” said a Vestas statement.
Vestas also signed a separate memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nippon Steel that will see the two look at use of the latter's products in wind towers in local and global markets.
The Danish group's Asia-Pacific president Purvin Patel said: "This initiative further strengthens the collaborative relationship between METI and Vestas, which are based on our shared goals of energy security and a sustainable future."
METI earlier this year announced a “focus group” with US group GE Vernova that included onshore wind MoUs with Japanese developers.
GE Vernova for a spell looked set to lead the charge into offshore wind with its Haliade-X turbine, although its role is now in question after the US group pulled back from the offshore sector last year.
Japan is eager to get its offshore wind plans back on track after Mitsubishi – which was due to use the Haliade-X – said it would put projects it won in the country’s first tender in 2021 “under review” given the changed economics of the sector.
Japan has a target to deploy up to 45GW of offshore wind by 2040.
METI also announced today that it has added two further 'promotion areas' to the list of those eligible for future auctions. The Matsumae and Hiyama zones are both off the northern island of Hokkaido.