The Japanese government now intends to install up to 45 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capability in the next two decades; a move that if realised, would cement its position as a global leader in one of the most challenging forms of renewable energy.
The plan is the latest installment in an ongoing movement in Tokyo to help the nation reduce overall emissions on the way to a 2050 goal of absolute carbon neutrality.
At present Japan remains fifth on the global ranking charts of greenhouse gas emitters.
In reports making the Japanese dailies earlier this week, the government of Liberal Democratic Party Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has agreed plans with a number of as yet unknown companies in energy and tech related industries as part of what the popular Asahi Shimbun then called a “green growth strategy” that would be made public by the end of the month.
Japan is already one of the world’s leading renewable energy nations with a range of solar, onshore and offshore wind options and increasing biomass investment making up for nuclear power plants mothballed since the 2011, Fukushima disaster in the wake of the Tohoku Earthquake on March 11th of that year.
The nation does, however, face some hurdles in increasing its offshore output with no significant projects announced in the last two years, even after the national government initiated legislation in 2018 to help promote the industry.
Naysayers and increasing numbers of potential investors and companies looking to benefit from renewables have complained government rules and regulations are too complicated to allow many potential projects get off the ground.