Hitachi Zosen, Marubeni to build offshore wind in Japan

Offshore wind in Japan is taking a major step forward with recent wins by Japanese trading and investment company Marubeni Corp. and a nine-company consortium led by Hitachi Zosen. Marubeni has received an order from the government of Japan’s northern prefecture Akita to build 145 MW of wind power capacity off the Akita coast. Under the terms of the deal, Marubeni will build two wind farms—a 65 MW facility consisting of 13 turbines near the port of Akita, and an 80 MW facility consisting of 16 turbines near the port of Noshiro. Marubeni will draw financial support for the projects from construction company Obayashi Corp., power company EcoPower, and the Akita and Hokuto banks, Forexpros reported on February 6. On February 9, the Hitachi Zosen-led consortium won a bid to construct the 220 MW Iwafune offshore wind farm off the northwest coast of Japan. The consortium plans to install 44 bottom-mounted turbines off the shores of Murakami City in Niigata prefecture. Once the feasibility study is completed, the consortium plans to set up a special purpose company later this year to direct the project. Hitachi Capital will fund the $852 million project, with support from the Daishi Bank and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.