Page 13 - AsiaElec Week 37 2021

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

Japan opens offshore bids

JAPAN JAPAN’S Ministry of Industry and Trade the formation of councils to consult communi-
(METI) is to open bidding for 360 MW of off- ties, will start immediately, while the process for
shore wind capacity in the north of the country, three areas identified earlier will continue.
while also designating four “promising areas” In June, METI chose a consortium led by
and identifying a further 10 as potentially suit- Toda Corporation for the 16.8-MW Goto float-
able for development. ing offshore wind farm in Nagasaki, southern
The ministry plans to launch tenders for 1 Japan, in the first auction under the new law.
GW of capacity this year, with 360 MW in the From the first round of the process to select
Happo-Noshiro area off the cost of Akita Prefec- operators, areas with the capacity to generate
ture to be followed by more tenders later in 2021. about 1.5 GW were designated as enhanced
“It has taken more time to consult local com- areas and went forward to a bidding process,
munities, as many stakeholders are involved and according to the ministry official.
as physical meetings have been postponed due As part of its green growth strategy for
to the coronavirus [COVID-19],” a ministry becoming carbon neutral by 2050, the Japanese
official told Reuters. The public auction for the government plans to award 10 GW of offshore
Happo-Noshiro project could start in about four wind capacity by 2030 with 1 GW per year of
months, said the official. tenders. The plan calls for installing 30 to 45 GW
The promising new areas include three in the of offshore wind turbines, including floating off-
Sea of Japan – one each off the coasts of Akita, shore wind turbines, by 2040, in part through the
Yamagata and Niigata Prefectures in northern development of a competitive domestic supply
Japan – and one in the Pacific Ocean off the coast chain. The tender was Japan’s first offshore wind
of Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo. auction since the new Renewable Sea Area Utili-
For those areas, the preparation process, sation Law came into force in April 2019.™
which includes wind and geological surveys and
RENEWABLES
Vestas secures 50-MW

order from wpd for Taiwan

VESTAS has secured a 50-MW order from Ger- position in the Taiwanese wind energy market
man developer wpd for Taiwan’s Chuangwei 2, and accelerate our developments in other Asian
Leadway 2 and Hsinyuan wind farms. markets,” added Achim Berge Olsen, COO of
The Hsinyuan wind farm includes six V136- wpd AG.
4.2 MW turbines with 112m towers, featuring The order includes a long-term Active Out-
the largest onshore turbine rotors in Taiwan, put Management 4000 (AOM 4000) service
which will maximise energy production for the agreement for the wind farms, to ensure opti-
site’s medium wind conditions. mised performance and long-term business case
Chuangwei 2 and Leadway 2 wind farms will certainty for the customer.
be installed with four and two V117-4.2 MW Deliveries are expected to begin in the second
turbines with 91.5m towers respectively. quarter of 2022, while commissioning is planned
With this order, Vestas’ total onshore order for the fourth quarter of the same year.
intake in Taiwan will exceed more than 330 MW, Meanwhile, Vestas said that it had also won
of which more than 110 MW have been done in orders for 70 MW of turbines from Poland’s
collaboration with wdp. Eurowind Energy across three projects in the
“We are pleased to extend our long-term Baltic Sea.This adds to the 140 MW at eight pro-
partnership with our global key account, wpd in jects in Poland that Eurowind Energy has already
Taiwan.” said Purvin Patel, president and CEO placed in orders with Vestas in the last two years.
of Vestas Asia-Pacific. “We would like to thank Vestas also said this week that it had received
wpd for entrusting Vestas with these projects a 240-MW order to repower the Big Sky Wind
and strengthening our working relationship in project in Illinois, US, owned by Vitol Wind. The
this region. We remain committed to develop- deal marks the first co-operation between Ves-
ing the wind industry in Taiwan and driving the tas and Vitol Wind. The order consists of 104
adoption of renewable energy in the region”. V120-2.2 MW turbines and five V110-2.0 MW
“The current supply order to Vestas initiates turbines in 2.2-MW operating mode, which will
the next phase of our growth strategy in Asia, replace the project’s current technology of 109
where we aim to further expand our strong Suzlon S88-2.1 MW turbines.™

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