Akita Offshore Wind Corporation (AOW) has reached financial close for offshore wind farms at Akita Port and Noshiro Port in Japan and is to commence construction this month.
AOW was established in 2016, and is a consortium of Marubeni Corporation, Obayashi Corporation, Tohoku Sustainable & Renewable Energy Co., Cosmo Eco Power Co., the Kansai Electric Power Co., Chubu Electric Power Co., The Akita Bank, Ohmori Co., Sawakigumi Corporation, Kyowa Oil Co., Katokensetsu.Co., Kanpu Co., and Sankyo Co.
The two wind farms in Akita Prefecture, with a combined capacity of 140 MW, are expected to form the first large-scale offshore wind project in Japanese waters. Onshore substations and transmission lines will enter construction this month (February 2020), after which the timetable sees hard work ahead of a 2022 commercial operations date.
The project’s operations and maintenance base is to be Noshiro Port. Electricity generated will be sold to Tohoku Electric Power under the terms of a twenty-year power purchase agreement.