Japanese trading house Marubeni is planning to build a floating wind farm off the Japanese coast, according to reports.
Marubeni plans to start developing the wind farm in March with the aim to build it off the coast of the Fukushima Prefecture.
The project will be supported by the Japanese government via the reconstruction budget from last year’s tsunami. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nippon Steel Corp and Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding are also involved.
Last year, Marubeni acquired a 49 per cent stake in Gunfleet Sands from Dong Energy. It marks Marubeni’s first stake in an offshore project.
In September, Japan’s trade ministry said it was planning a ¥10-20 billion ($130-260 million) project to develop a floating turbine in the deep waters off the northern coast.
Japan hopes to develop a 1GW floating offshore project off its northern coast by 2020. The announcement follows the passing of a renewable-energy bill in the upper house of Japan’s parliament.
There is sound reasoning behind Japan’s push for offshore wind. When the tsunami struck, the Kamisu near-shore wind farm on Japan’s east coast withstood the magnitude-nine earthquake and contributed vital electricity in the aftermath of the disaster.
Kamisu is located 40 metres off Ibaraki prefecture and is comprised of seven 2MW Fuji Heavy Industries wind turbines.
