Japan Hastens Construction Of Offshore Wind Power Plants

Japan will aim to speed up the start of operations of some new offshore wind power plants, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pushed the resource-poor nation to review its high energy dependence on imports, the government said Friday, Mainichi Japan reported.

Photo Insert: Japan sees the move as a vital step toward ensuring energy security.

The government's permission criteria for businesses bidding to use marine areas to generate offshore wind power will be reviewed so companies that can start sooner rather than later will be more highly evaluated, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

"Following the situation in Ukraine, we are facing an urgent need to accelerate the introduction of renewable energy as a home-grown energy source toward decarbonization. This is also vital in terms of ensuring energy security," industry minister Koichi Hagiuda told a press conference.

In December, a group led by trading house Mitsubishi Corp. won the right to use three marine areas, near Tokyo and in northeastern Japan, with its plan of supplying power at low prices highly rated.

The group aims to start business in 2028. However, some of the companies that lost out in the bidding process complained that the criteria were too cost-oriented.

A ministry council will start specific discussions on how to revise the screening criteria next week, Hagiuda added. Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has led Western nations to ban or cut imports of Russian crude oil and other fossil fuels as part of economic sanctions on Russia. Those moves have spurred a surge in energy prices.

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