Wind Energy – Japan
Tepco Renewable Power is trying to become more competitive in bidding for offshore wind projects after losing out to consortia led by Mitsubishi Corp. in the inaugural round of Japanese government-run auctions.
Japan is aiming to award 10 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by the end of the decade, spurring a contest for the contracts to build the projects. The Mitsubishi-led grouping made a clean sweep of the first three tenders — with a combined capacity of around 1.7 gigawatts — allocated in December.
The renewables unit of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Japan’s biggest utility, will continue to work with current partners — including Danish company Orsted AS — for the next round of bidding, according to Tepco Renewable President Masashi Nagasawa.
A “careful review’’ of its partnerships is necessary, however, especially given the need to lower costs, Nagasawa said in an interview. But Tepco “isn’t willing to take on losses” to develop more domestic offshore wind projects, he said.
Tepco Renewable and Orsted lost out on one of the three tenders — for a project off the coast of Chiba Prefecture — that Mitsubishi won at a price of ¥16.49 per kilowatt hour. The trade ministry is currently reviewing the auction criteria, pushing back the schedule for the second round.
