Two sources claim that Equinor, a Norwegian energy company, has bid with other companies to build an offshore wind farm in Japan's latest state auctions. It is looking for a foothold on the market.

Equinor’s bid shows that some wind players have their eyes on Japan, even though they are cutting back elsewhere. This is despite the frustration of some international players with strict bidding regulations and a previous auction round being won by Japanese companies.

Japan, a latecomer in offshore wind, wants to increase its capacity to 45 GW by 2040, from less than 1GW currently. This would place it among the top five offshore wind markets.

Equinor has decided to stop pursuing offshore wind projects in Vietnam, Spain and Portugal, while Germany's RWE is focusing its efforts on Japan and South Korea, and not further developing in India or Taiwan.

In its third auction round, Japan offered two sites with a combined 1 gigawatt (1 GW) total in the northern prefectures Aomori & Yamagata. The auctions ended in July and the winners will be announced at year's end.

The sources confirmed that Equinor was part of a consortium, but did not name the Japanese companies or specify which site they bid for. According to sources who declined to name themselves because the bids are confidential, other foreign companies submitted bids.

Both Equinor Japan and the METI (Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Innovation) which oversees these auctions declined to comment.

Equinor's push into Japan comes as it acquires a 10% stake in Orsted, the Danish offshore wind energy giant that announced earlier in the year it would no longer prioritize Japan. Orsted announced that it had decided to close all of its offices in Japan.

Orsted called on Japan last year to auction much larger projects, 10 GW-15 GW each time. This would make the market more attractive and reduce costs for renewable energy developers.

The first auction of 2021 saw the consortiums led the Japanese trading company Mitsubishi Corp win all bids. This prompted grumbles by foreign bidders and many local participants who were shut out.

Equinor, like many others, lost that round. It did not bid on the second round last year, where partnerships between RWE and Spain's Iberdrola won.

Industry players claim that while METI has not yet publicly addressed the calls of foreign companies for increased auctions, discussions have begun to relax other restrictions on development.

Kiyoshi Doi is the head of Eneos offshore wind division. He told a conference in the last week that experts from the industry and the government were discussing possible changes to the bid rules. These could include allowing for changes such as shifting the turbine supplier and inflation adjustments on energy sales prices.

According to two developers, the industry also wants to change laws so that non-Japanese flagged installation ships can operate offshore wind sites. This will allow ships from other countries, such as Europe, to be brought in.

(source: Reuters)