Japan’s Wind sector dominated by foreign business
Overseas companies have discovered that the Japanese renewable energy market is profitable and is narrowing down to enjoy these revenues. The European industries are penetrating this market with wind energy. On the other hand, China is expanding rapidly with the uptake and development of solar resources to obtain solar energy.
This development comes as Japan strategizes to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the coming three decades. Additionally, the government has loosened its stand on the barriers to exploring offshore wind power to maximize renewables’ exploitation. While Europe and China have unbeatable potential in renewables, the local developers of renewable energy in Japan are contending against these experienced giants.
An excellent example is Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, which is preparing to establish its branch in Japan. This branch will facilitate the manufacture of wind turbines for the exploitation of this renewable in the country. Niels Steenberg, the general manager of the branch in Spain, stated that they expect the projects in Japan to perform efficiently.
Siemens Gamesa intends to initiate an assembly plant in Taiwan that will develop wind turbines to meet the country’s industry demands come next year. The company revealed that this is its strategy to acquire more contracts in the Asian continent. The firm explained that it hopes the facility starts gaining popularity in the Japanese market immediately it launches operations on the facility.
Similarly, Iberdrola, a Spanish company, acquired Japan’s Acacia Renewables to control the wind power production in this country through the firm. Iberdrola intends to revive this company’s offshore wind power segment to gain profits from both sides of the wind energy technology. Norway’s Equinor is also entering the Japanese wind energy industry, having developed its offices in the country two years ago. Denmark’s Orsted also ventured into the Japanese renewable energy industry in 2019, creating an offshore wind energy branch.
Ignacio Galan, the chief executive of Iberdrola, reported that they are working on the inception of their company into Japan’s wind energy market. Although wind power boasts of 15% market share in Europe, the Japanese renewable energy industry has less than one percent dependence on wind power. Japan has enough land and resources to support offshore wind farms.
Japan has been accepting long-term deals from companies to accelerate the transition to renewable energy. The government is keen to support renewables bypassing regulations that incentivize wind energy projects. In conclusion, Japan anticipates the renewable energy industry to create employment opportunities for the locals. Nevertheless, the country is evaluating methods that will ensure the profits remain in the country by supporting the local manufacturers of wind energy resources.
