Op-Ed: Japan's Offshore Wind Dream Hits a Wall - Can Industry Reform Save It? - CleanTechnica

The article discusses the significant challenges facing Japan’s offshore wind industry, highlighted by Mitsubishi Corporation’s recent withdrawal from three large projects, totaling 1.7 gigawatts of capacity. This move exposed deep structural issues in Japan’s approach to offshore wind development, despite the country’s ambitious targets of 10 gigawatts by 2030 and 45 gigawatts by 2040. Currently, Japan’s installed offshore wind capacity is a mere 0.3 gigawatts, far behind regional competitors like China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Vietnam, which are rapidly expanding their renewable energy portfolios. The government’s offshore wind auctions have faltered, with winners withdrawing or facing financial difficulties, leading to an indefinite postponement of the fourth auction round. This stagnation poses a strategic risk for Japan, which relies heavily on fossil fuel imports and aims for carbon neutrality by 2050. A white paper from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), produced with consultancy OWC, identifies three critical