A new bill passed by Japan’s House of Representatives on 3 June will enable offshore wind projects to be built in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), beyond the 22-kilometre (12-nautical-mile) line of Japan’s territorial waters.
The bill , which was approved by the House of Councillors on 11 April, amends the existing Act on Promotion of Use of Marine Areas for Development of Marine Renewable Energy Power Generation Facilities to allow the government to designate and put out to tender offshore wind areas in the EEZ.
The industry welcomed the opening of the deepwater areas off Japan’s coasts, suitable for large-scale floating wind farms.
“This is great news. Congratulations to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Japanese Government for making this possible. Scaling up floating wind is important for increasing Japan’s energy autonomy and resilience, and represents an important global industrial opportunity. GWEC looks forward to continuing to work with the government of Japan to build a successful offshore wind industry for the country”, said Rebecca Williams , Deputy CEO at Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).
According to preliminary figures for 2024 from the Japan Wind Power Association (JWPA), Japan currently has 5,840.4 MW of wind energy capacity, of which 253.4 MW is offshore.
The country has seven offshore wind projects in operation, with only two using floating wind technology and both being single-turbine demo projects: the 2 MW Sakiyama floating wind turbine and the 3 MW Hibiki floater.
Japan aims to have 10 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, and 30-45 GW by 2040, including floating wind, as part of its target to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.