Hibiki Floating Wind Power began commercial operation of the 3MW Hibikinada Floating Offshore Wind Power Plant on April 22, 2025, the consortium’s members announced on the same day.
The power plant, located 15km off the Kitakyushu coast and comprising a 3MW Aerodyn turbine on a Kanadevia-manufactured steel barge, was commissioned in May 2019. Initially, it was as part of a New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) demonstration project run by Glocal. The pilot concluded at the end of March 2024, followed by a period of preparation for commercializing the project.
The consortium plans to operate the power plant for 20 years under the feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme, which offers floating offshore wind projects a fixed 36 yen per kWh. Glocal will be in charge of operation and maintenance (O&M). SMFL Mirai Partners will handle asset management. Other investors in the project’s special purpose company (SPC) include Gojin Group, Kotobuki Engineering & Manufacturing (KEMCO), Chugoku Electric Power, and Renewable Japan.
Hibikinada is Japan’s second floating offshore wind power plant operating commercially and the first one using a barge. It follows a 2MW turbine off the coast of Goto City, Nagasaki Prefecture, operated commercially by Nagasaki Prefecture and Toda Corporation since March 2016 after the conclusion of a similar demonstration project.
METI is targeting to have 5.7GW of offshore wind installed by FY2030, up from the about 250MW as of the end of 2024. All but the two turbines totaling 5MW are fixed-bottom. However, efforts to grow floating capacity are underway and Glocal recently began the environmental impact assessment process for a 30MW project in the same general area as the 3MW turbine.
