Wind Energy – Japan and South Korea
RWE plans further expansions into Japan’s offshore wind sector after winning its first project last month, a senior executive told Reuters, and also considers South Korea a promising market.
RWE, the world’s second-biggest offshore wind company, won the right to build a 684-megawatt (MW) wind farm in Niigata prefecture in northern Japan in a consortium with Mitsui & Co and Osaka Gas as part of the second round of Japanese state auctions.
RWE plans to launch the farm in June 2029 and will share capital expenditures with partners based on their share, Sven Utermohlen, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind, said on Wednesday. He declined to disclose the share and investments.
“Our average (capital expenditure) assumption for our wind farms is approximately 3 million euros ($3.27 million) per megawatt,” Utermohlen said, noting the average cost has risen because of relatively high inflation in the industry and would depend on factors including water depth, distance to shore, size and supply chain.
For RWE, Japan is a strategic core market in Asia. The company also wants to expand in South Korea but has decided not to continue with additional offshore wind development in India and Taiwan.
“We believe that Japan, obviously, with the long-term goal of 45 gigawatts by 2040, will have to go floating. Otherwise, that is just not achievable,” Utermohlen said.
RWE has previously teamed-up with Kansai Electric Power Co on a joint feasibility study for a floating offshore wind project.
