TEPCO and Ørsted to jointly work on offshore wind projects

The two will collaborate on the $9.2b Choshi offshore wind project near Tokyo.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and Danish developer Ørsted inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly work on offshore wind projects.

The two will jointly work on the Choshi offshore wind project near Tokyo. TEPCO has been working on a seabed survey that will last up until the end of January 2019 to assess the feasibility of the project.

Asian Power previously reported that it will spend $9.2b to install 200 wind turbines offshore, which can each produce 5,000kW and power 300,000 households. The company plans to sell generated electricity through the feed-in-tariff (FIT) system.

TEPCO president Tomoaki Kobayakawa said, “We are confident that the partnership combining TEPCO’s extensive expertise in the Japanese power business and Ørsted’s track record in the offshore wind business will lead to success in the Choshi project. We hope that this first step paves the way for expansion beyond the coastlines of Japan for the development, construction, operation and ownership of offshore wind projects.

TEPCO aims to develop 6-7GW of renewable energy projects in Japan and overseas, the executive added. The company has been exploring offshore wind business opportunities in Japan and overseas.

Ørsted CEO and president Henrik Poulsen commented, “This MoU is the first step in Ørsted and TEPCO’s aspirations to deliver on Japan’s ambitions for domestic renewable power generation at a large scale and contribute to making Japan a leading offshore wind market in the Asia-Pacific.” 

Ørsted and TEPCO are some of the many energy firms trying their hand in offshore wind projects, which have enjoyed swathes of investment internationally. Offshore wind was a major recipient of renewables investment last year, attracting $25.7b, up 14% on the previous year, a BloombergNEF report revealed.