Plans were unveiled for another giant jack-up vessel for turbine installation as the specialist supply chain needed to support Japan’s offshore wind ambitions took another step forward.
Contractors PaxOcean Group and Penta-Ocean Construction said the vessel, with a 1,600-tonne crane, a 3,800 sq metre deck and designed by GustoMSC, will be completed in Q3 2022.
Japan is ramping up for significant offshore wind build-out over the next decade, with vessels bearing the country’s flag needed to complete major projects from 2022 onwards.
Japanese energy group JERA earlier this year linked with contracting and engineering specialist Shimizu – itself building a major offshore wind installation vessel – for possible collaboration at home and abroad, while shipping group NYK and Dutch contractor Van Oord plan to jointly own and operate Japanese-flagged vessels.
Japan’s parliament in 2019 passed legislation clearing the way for first offshore wind tenders to take place this year to underpin long-term development of the sector, while the government has set a 10GW wind target (onshore and offshore combined) for 2030.
MHI Vestas on Tuesday revealed it had won the OEM sector’s first turbine order for a utility-scale offshore wind farm in Japan.
Recharge reported today how total investment in offshore wind power projects in Asia Pacific (APAC) came in at almost double that in Europe in 2019, as the fast-moving emerging market eclipsed the sector’s historic heartland for the first time, according to new research from the Renewables Consulting Group (RCG).
