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Japanese pledge to plow billions into UK offshore wind sector

Japanese companies have committed to invest more than $22bn in the UK, including funding for offshore wind, low-carbon hydrogen and other clean energy projects.

Trading house Marubeni had announced its intention to sign an agreement with the government which envisaged close to $12.5bn of investment in Britain with partners over the next 10 years. This includes offshore wind in Scotland and green hydrogen projects in Wales and Scotland.

Marubeni’s counterpart Sumitomo Corporation intends to expand its UK offshore wind projects, leading to a total investment of about $5bn in projects off the coasts of Suffolk and Norfolk alongside its partners. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Electric Industries plans to build a high voltage cable manufacturing plant in the Scottish Highlands, bringing more than $250mm in investment, that should bolster UK’s offshore wind supply chains.

The announcement came ahead of a Group of Seven leaders’ (G7) summit in Japan. A report released by energy think thank Ember showed Japan has the lowest share of clean electricity of any G7 country, with the offshore wind being “the biggest gap” to its current electricity plan.

G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers laid out that they would build 150 GW of new offshore wind by 2030. Meanwhile, Japan is targeting 10 GW of offshore wind capacity approved by 2030, with at least 5.7 GW online by then

“This means, Japan’s operational offshore wind is projected to be just 4% of the collective G7 target by 2030. It is also only a little over 1% of the 392 GW theoretical potential of offshore wind power in the country,” Ember report said.

The UK is one of the world’s largest offshore wind markets, and the country’s government has agreed to take part in developing Japan’s offshore wind power as it is well positioned to export its knowledge in the sector to other countries.

Adis Ajdin

Adis is an experienced news reporter with a background in finance, media and education. He has written across the spectrum of offshore energy and ocean industries for many years and is a member of International Federation of Journalists. Previously he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy, Subsea World News and Marine Energy.
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