About 7-8GW of bottom-fixed offshore wind can likely be built in Japan by 2030 – without the need to immediately opt for floating technology – Matthias Bausenwein, general manager for the Asia-Pacific region at Danish group Orsted, told Recharge.

The Japanese Wind Power Association puts the possible volume for bottom-fixed offshore until 2030 somewhat higher at 10GW, Bausenwein said, but stressed that the volume to be achieved depends on how the “market picks up”.

“From a pure site point of view, there are plenty of opportunities in Japan. So maybe 7GW to 8GW [of bottom-fixed] is a fair guess by 2030,” Bausenwein said.

Japan still is in early stage of offshore wind development, despite years of deployment of pilot turbines that have usually been floating, given a continental shelf off the island nation that very quickly turns into deep waters. The country’s parliament late last year passed offshore wind legislation that is the basis for the government to announce first tenders that the industry expects in the spring.

Most of the world’s offshore wind farms in operation and development are still bottom-fixed, which so far is much cheaper to build, especially in Northern Europe with its relatively shallow waters in the North and Baltic Seas.

Orsted on Friday announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s largest power firm, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), to work jointly on offshore wind projects on a large scale, starting with the Choshi project near Tokyo.

The Choshi site is “clearly a bottom-fixed area,” Bausenwein said.

“We are investigating a bit more there, but it [the water depth] is definitely under 50 metres.”

While Japan is the most promising market for floating wind, the technology is still continuing to mature, the Orsted executive said. He added that it is best to enter a new market with a more established technology, such as bottom-fixed offshore wind.

Orsted’s MoU partner TEPCO has said it aims to develop 4-6GW of offshore wind in Japan and overseas, but hasn’t laid down the specifics of the technology it plans to use.

The utility since 2013 has a 2.4MW bottom-fixed test turbine running at Choshi, which it switched to commercial operation on 1 January this year.

Wind

Orsted sees up to 8GW bottom-fixed potential off Japan