Asia has emerged as a rapidly expanding market for offshore wind development, with a number of key projects currently underway in the region
Korea has set itself the target of installing 12GW offshore wind capacity by 2030 (Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Slaunger)
Offshore wind is expected to undergo a huge expansion across Asia by the end of this decade, as countries turn to renewables to help meet their climate targets. Here, Modern Power Systems magazine analyses the latest offshore wind developments across the region.
The potential of the Japanese offshore wind market is not lost on wind turbine makers. GE and Toshiba, for example, have recently announced the signing of a strategic partnership agreement to localise “critical phases of the manufacturing process” for GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbine and to support its commercialisation in Japan.
Building on the “long-lasting relationship between GE and Toshiba in Japan and beyond”, the strategic agreement “will help GE’s offshore wind technology to be more competitive in upcoming auctions in Japan”.
As part of the strategic partnership, GE will provide Haliade-X wind turbine technology, including parts and components for nacelle assembly, and support Toshiba in jointly developing a local supply chain as well as completing assembly of the nacelles.
Toshiba will assemble, warehouse and transport Haliade-X nacelles, provide preventative maintenance services and take on sales and commercial responsibilities for the Japanese market.
John Lavelle, president and CEO of offshore wind at GE Renewable Energy, said: “GE and Toshiba have known each other for decades and have proven their successful collaboration through numerous partnerships.
“Toshiba is the strategic partner to help us bring the benefits of offshore wind to Japan. Their local manufacturing capabilities, experience in the energy sector, and outstanding reputation in the market make them an invaluable strategic partner.
“Together, we are well-positioned to support Japan’s ambitions to be a leader in renewable energy and offshore wind in particular.”
Making headway in Asia
In June, a consortium led by Toda Corp was announced as the winner of, and the only bidder in, the Japanese government’s auction to build a floating offshore wind farm off the coast of Nagasaki prefecture, southern Japan. The facility, Offshore Goto City, will have an installed capacity of 16.8 megawatts (MW).
Other members of the six-strong consortium are Eneos, Osaka Gas, Inpex, Kansai Electric Power Co, and Chubu Electric Power Co.
Toda and partner companies have been working on hybrid spar (lower part concrete/upper part steel) floating wind technology in the Goto area for some years and installed a 2-MW floating turbine in 2013.
The Goto tender (launched in June 2020 and closed in December) was the first stage of Round 1 of the Japanese government’s programme of offshore wind auctions.
The remaining Round 1 projects will be bottom-fixed installations at the following three designated sites (as specified by Japan’s Offshore Renewable Energy Act of 2018): Noshiro City/Mitane Town/Oga City and Yurihonjo City, both off the coast of Akita prefecture; and Choshi City, off the coast of Chiba prefecture. Grid capacity is 415MW for Noshiro/Mitane/Oga and 730MW for Yurihonjo, as stated in the auction guidelines.
The tendering process for these sites started in November 2020 and closed on 27 May 2021.
The results of these Round 1 auctions are expected to be announced in Q4 2021 (October or November). There will be awards in each zone, ie, bids are competing with other bids inside their zones, not with bids in other zones. The awards provide for a 30-year occupation period at each site.
Japan, as part of its plan to be carbon neutral by 2050, has outlined a 30-45-gigawatt (GW) offshore wind ambition by 2040 (including floating turbines), with up to 10GW of offshore capacity to be in place by 2030, and hopes to execute about 1GW of offshore wind auctions every year. Japan’s west coast is expected to host up to 5GW of offshore wind by 2030, and 9GW by 2040.
Ørsted’s ambitions
Ørsted, which is majority-owned by the Danish state and very much focused on offshore wind development worldwide, has been particularly active in Round 1 bidding in Japan and is involved in tenders for both the Akita sites, as well as Choshi.
For the Akita projects, Ørsted is working in partnership with JWD (Japan Wind Development) and Eurus, while its partner for the Choshi zone project is TEPCO Renewable Power.
JWD is described as having “deep knowledge of the Japanese power market and supply chain as well as a strong track record in onshore wind in Japan”, Ørsted has “unparalleled experience in developing, constructing and operating offshore wind farms worldwide”, while Eurus “has for decades been the leading onshore wind company in Japan with a strong development and operational track record in the Akita prefecture”.
Matthias Bausenwein, president of the Asia-Pacific region at Ørsted, said: “As a strategic market for Ørsted, Japan has great potential and optimal conditions to develop offshore wind”, noting that Ørsted “can be a key player in realising the cost-down journey for offshore wind in Japan”.
The Noshiro and Yurihonjo offshore wind sites “have been matured by JWD since 2017”, with a range of activities including site investigations, wind measurements, seabed surveys, and environmental impact assessments.
In support of the Choshi bid, TEPCO Renewable Power says it has been “conducting site-specific surveys and tests since 2009 on offshore wind power generation off the coast of Choshi City” and as part of the Choshi demo project it “has experienced construction and O&M under harsh marine and weather conditions, while considering the surrounding environment and coexistence with the fishing industry in and around the designated area”.
Ørsted, as its partner for the Choshi bid, points to its experience in Taiwan where there are “similar extreme environmental conditions” and, having established an office in Tokyo in 2019, Ørsted, working with TEPCO, says it has “engaged early and extensively with local communities in Choshi City to seek consensus on the proposed offshore wind project”.
Shinsuke Inoue, managing director of TEPCO Renewable Power’s wind power business, notes that “with the co-operation of the local community, we started Japan’s first bottom-fixed offshore project in 2009, and today we are able to provide you with electricity generated from that windfarm”.
He added: “TEPCO has created a plan for offshore wind power generation that encapsulates the preferences of the regional communities and the knowledge from both companies to the greatest extent possible.”
Matthias Bausenwein talked about a “unique plan for the Choshi offshore wind promotional area, tailored to the unique conditions of the site, while considering the sensitivities and preferences of local stakeholders”.
Korea’s offshore wind ambitions
Ørsted is also very active in Korea’s offshore wind sector, recently signing an MoU with POSCO, one of the country’s largest conglomerates, to “strengthen collaboration.”
Under the MoU, POSCO and its affiliates will apply their joint capabilities to support the development of Ørsted’s 1.6-GW of offshore wind projects more than 70km off the coast of Incheon City. They will also conduct feasibility studies on potential collaboration on renewable hydrogen.
Korea has set itself the target of installing 12GW offshore wind capacity by 2030 and is aiming for net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
With significant climatological and topographical constraints limiting options for the development of onshore wind and solar power in South Korea, offshore wind is seen as a way for the country to reduce its dependency on imported fossil fuels.
Ørsted says it has a well-established relationship with POSCO, whose steel business has, for example, supplied more than 100,000 tonnes of steel for Ørsted’s Hornsea 1 and three other offshore wind farms.
Ørsted recently started construction of its first renewable hydrogen demonstration project, H2RES, in Denmark and is involved in nine renewable hydrogen projects (in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK, as well as Denmark).
POSCO has recently announced its intention to be carbon neutral by 2050 and plans to get actively involved in the hydrogen supply chain from production to application as well as gradually transforming its production into hydrogen-based steelmaking.
Meanwhile, K2 Management (K2M), a renewable energy engineering and project management consultancy, has been selected for design and owner’s engineer services at Taean Wind Power’s 504-MW offshore wind farm in South Korea.
Following the successful delivery of a preliminary feasibility study and site screening in the initial stages of the development, K2M, in partnership with Dohwa Engineering, will now deliver on the next stage of the project.
This will include the design of the turbine foundations, inter-array, export cables, and offshore substation. K2M and Dohwa will also carry out the energy yield assessment and manage the invitation to tender and permitting processes, with the goal of streamlining the project and ensuring it remains on schedule.
Byeong-Won Chu, Taean Wind Power, said: “We were pleased to see that the feasibility study led by K2M and Dohwa demonstrated the enormous potential of the project, and can now confirm that the design and permitting process is underway. We look forward to extending our relationship to cover project design and owner’s engineer services.”
Construction of Taean Offshore Wind Farm is scheduled to begin in July 2023, with a completion date of 2026.
K2 Management, headquartered in Denmark, with 20 global offices, says it has been involved in more than 1,950 successful onshore wind, offshore wind, solar PV and wave and tidal projects in more than 40 countries.
This article originally appeared in Modern Power Systems magazine