Written by: Paige KOIZUMI
Verified by: Lynn HSIAO
Source: Nicholas Doherty on Unsplash
Introduction
Japan has recently taken measures to change their approach to energy, from electric to natural energy. In 2022, the percentage of natural energy demand was 21.7% of their total generated power. Among this, 0.9% of this energy was generated through wind power. In recent years, Japan has come to focus on wind power generation because there are limited locations for solar panels, causing Japan to take unique measures such as offshore wind construction.
Despite the recent efforts, Japan still falls below other developed nations in terms of wind power introduction. As seen in the table below, Japan only introduced 0.1 GW of offshore wind power in both 2022 and 2023. In comparison, Japan’s neighbors, Taiwan and China, introduced 1.2 GW and 5.1 GW in 2022 and 0.7 GW and 6.3 GW in 2023, respectively.
Table 1: Introduction of Wind Power by Country (GW)
(Note: Data from自然エネルギー財団 (Renewable Energy Institute), July 2024)
Japan is planning to introduce 10 GW of offshore wind power by 2030, and 30 – 40 by 2040. There are also plans in place to strengthen the power grid in anticipation of the expansion of offshore wind power generation. Japan predicts that as solar power and offshore wind power expands, the path to increasing the proportion of renewable energy to nearly 100% becomes realistically visible.
Japan implemented the Renewable Energy Sea Area Utilization Act (Act on Promoting the Utilization of Sea Areas for the Development of Marine Renewable Energy Power Generation Facilities) introduced a system that the national government designates offshore development areas in territorial waters and publicly invites businesses to develop them. As of November 2023, there have been 10 promotion zones selected and 17 sea areas are in preparation for designation. The first round of the developer selection procedure was completed in 2021, the second round in 2023, and the selection result for the remaining one area is set to be announced in March 2024.
Centralized Model
To achieve the goals set for offshore wind development, Japan has a multitude of challenges that must first be addressed. Currently, one major issue is that the Japanese national government has yet to set the roles that should be taken by national governments and the local and municipal governments.
Currently, the Japanese centralized model, as outlined by the Renewable Energy Sea Area Utilization Act, is different than the typical European centralized systems. European countries who practice this model have differing involvement of the national government in the identification of sea areas for development in comparison to Japan. To combat the issues that arise from lack of uniformity, the national government should become more hands on and lead and implement adjustments to the development of the large-scale offshore wind power.
Challenges
Policies and permissions relating to offshore wind development are vastly spread across multiple different entities, ministries in the national government, and among local and municipal government departments. There is yet to exist a comprehensive national or local government body or mechanism that oversees the deployment of offshore wind from the development until operation.
In 2023, the “Draft Operation Policy for the Centralized System for Offshore Wind Power Generation” was released, outlining the role division between the national and local governments to ensure local coexistence in the early stages project development. The policy states as follows:
Local governments should take the lead in coordination
The national government should provide the required support to local governments in
their efforts to promote local understanding and to identify the fishery’s situations, considering the needs of the local governments. This policy fails to address the previously mentioned issue, and national government’s role is limited to promoting understanding and providing local governments with support.
Although previously Japan’s natural energy demand was lower than its neighboring countries, the country has a positive outlook towards natural energy sources such as wind power. As Japan continues to move towards more environmentally friendly energy sources, they are faced with a multitude of challenges that must first be addressed, leaving the responsibility on the government to implement some changes.
If you are interested to learn more about renewable energy or renewable energy services, then please feel free to contact one of Mt. Stonegate for a consultation with an expert in the field.
References:
洋上風力発電の動向:世界と日本における現状 (第5版)|インフォパック|自然エネルギー財団. (n.d.). https://www.renewable-ei.org/activities/reports/20240415.php
洋上風力発電の動向:世界と日本における現状(第5版 改訂版)|インフォパック|自然エネルギー財団. (n.d.). https://www.renewable-ei.org/activities/reports/20240712.php
着床式洋上風力発電における地域経済分析|報告書|自然エネルギー財団. (n.d.). https://www.renewable-ei.org/activities/reports/20240625.php
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