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Japan will launch a 1.8 GW offshore wind auction in December 2022

Japan will resume public auctions for offshore wind power projects in December 2022 under revised rules, after the March 2022 auction was suspended. The upcoming auction will select operators for four new areas capable of hosting 1.8 GW of offshore wind power.

In October 2022, Japan amended the bid rules, giving a higher evaluation score to operators that submit earlier start-up dates and setting a 1 GW limit on bids that one consortium can win when multiple ocean areas are auctioned. In addition, to discourage a focus on price alone, the evaluation process will give all bids below the market an equal score in their assessment on price.

Japan held its last major round of offshore wind auctions in December 2021, in which it designated three Mitsubishi-led consortia to build the 819 MW Yurihonjo wind project offshore Akita Prefecture, the 479 MW Noshiro Mitane Oga project, also off Akita Prefecture, and the 391 MW Choshi project off Chiba Prefecture. After suffering criticism on the transparency of the process, Japan put new auctions on hold in March 2022 to revise auction rules.

Japan aims to expand offshore wind energy capacity to 10 GW by 2030 and 30-45 GW by 2040. At the end of 2021, Japan only had 65 MW of offshore wind installed capacity (but more than 4 GW for onshore wind).