Equinor competing in Japan's 3rd offshore wind tender - report

Norway's Equinor ASA (OSE:EQNR) is taking part in a consortium bidding in the latest tender for offshore wind power capacity in Japan, which is supposedly now one of its major target markets, according to a Reuters report.

The Norwegian energy group has tied up with unnamed Japanese companies to launch a proposal for a wind farm in Japanese waters, unnamed sources have told the news agency without elaborating further. They have added that other foreign companies are also competing to secure rights for two areas offered by the Japanese government this summer.

The tender round, Japan’s third offshore wind solicitation, covers one site in the Sea of ​​Japan, off Aomori prefecture, and another one off the coast of the town of Yusa in Yamagata prefecture. Those areas are believed to have the potential to host 1 GW of turbine capacity. The bidding for development rights was completed in mid-July and winners are due to be announced in December.

State-owned Equinor has reportedly focused on Japan and South Korea for its offshore wind ambitions after withdrawing from Vietnam and abandoning plans to develop offshore wind projects in Spain, Portugal and France. Its plan for Japan supposedly envisages taking advantage of the country's nascent offshore wind industry as the nation aims to reach 30 GW-45 GW of installed capacity by 2040.

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