Marubeni launches offshore wind farm in Japan

A Japanese trading firm, Marubeni Corp, started a commercial operation based on the feed-in tariff program for renewable energy at the offshore wind farm of Akita Port on Tuesday, it said in a statement.

Japan has a goal to be carbon neutral by 2050, which is set to grow as the government looks to install up to 10 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and up to 45 gigawatts by 2040.

Marubeni's 100 billion yen $768 million project, consisting of two wind farms with 140 megawatt capacity at Akita Port and Noshiro Port in northern Akita prefecture, is Japan's first large-scale commercial offshore wind power project.

The launch of the Akita Port farm brings the project to full-scale operation, with its offshore wind farm Noshiro Port operating since December last year, according to Marubeni.

The feed-in tariff program will allow power from the two wind farms to be sold to Tohoku Electric Power for 20 years.

Marubeni's 12 partners include Obayashi Corp, Tohoku Sustainable Renewable Energy Co, Cosmo Eco Power Co, Kansai Electric Power Co, and Chubu Electric Power Co.