Japanese oil refining company Eneos said Thursday it was joining an offshore wind joint venture targeting projects in Akita Prefecture in Japan.
Eneos has acquired a share in GK Happo Noshiro Offshore Wind, a company formed to seek opportunities to develop a wind farm offshore Happo Town and Noshiro City in Akita Prefecture. Other partners in the joint venture are Japanese firms JRE and Tohoku Electric.
Akita Prefecture is considered to be among the most suitable areas for the development of offshore wind farms in Japan.
According to Eneos, GK Happo Noshiro Offshore Wind plans to build an offshore wind farm with a maximum capacity of 155 MW, and wind turbine generators with 8-10MW capacity in the area. The partnership plans to make a bid when the public offering takes place.
"With the earliest target to start operations set for 2024, Eneos will accelerate the development of the business plan together with its partners, Japan Renewable Energy Corporation and Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc., through the utilization of its expertise, gained through the development and operation of photovoltaic and onshore wind power plants to date," Eneos said.
Eneos, Japan's largest oil refiner, is looking to diversify and become one of Asia's largest integrated energy companies and has invested in renewables including solar, onshore wind, biomass, and offshore wind project in Taiwan. The company plans to achieve 1 gigawatt of renewable power generation capacity by 2022
Per Eneos, the company currently operates photovoltaic power plants (46MW with 18 plants), onshore wind power plants (4MW with 2 plants), and a biomass power plant (68MW) in Japan.
In April 2019, Eneos, formerly known as JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation, joined an offshore wind project in Taiwan, after buying a 6.75% stake in Yunneng Wind Power Co.
By December 2021, Yunneng plans to construct a 640MW wind farm offshore of Yunlin County and sell power to Taiwan Power Company over a 20-year period, using a feed-in tariff scheme under Taiwan’s Renewable Energy Development Act.
Watch the recording of World Energy Report's Offshore Wind Webinar "Outlook for Offshore Wind Power: The Frontier of Future Energy."