Japan joins offshore wind big league as pioneering Akita & Noshiro hits water
All 33 Vestas turbines now in place at Marubeni-led 140MW project that marks start of multi-gigawatt journey
Japan’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm is fully in the water in a milestone for the Asian nation’s energy transition.
All 33 Vestas 4.2MW are in place at the 140MW Akita & Noshiro project off Akita prefecture, the first deployment of a major array in a nation that has so far seen only small-scale pilot deployments off its coasts.
The completion of the work was announced by Seajacks, whose Zaratan vessel has been installing the turbines since July.
Akita & Noshiro, owned by a consortium led by Japanese giant Marubeni, is expected to be commissioned by the end of the year. “It is a testament to the capabilities of all parties, that the project has been completed safely and without any major incidents, despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Seajacks CEO Blair Ainslie.
The project was built under an earlier Japanese scheme to support development of offshore wind in ports areas.
The nation has since started a programme of large-scale tendering designed to help the country achieve some of the world’s most ambitious offshore wind targets, including allocating 10GW by 2030 and installing up to 45GW by 2040.