
Hokkaido Electric Power submitted a planning-stage “document on primary environmental impact consideration” for an up to 1.14GW offshore wind farm off the coast of Hiyama in Hokkaido, the company announced on November 26, 2024.
The document outlines that the project would consist of up to 76 fixed-bottom turbines, each between 15MW and 20MW.
The project would be located in the “Sea Area Offshore Hiyama,” which is currently a “Promising Zone” under the Act on Promoting the Utilization of Sea Areas for the Development of Marine Renewable Energy Power Generation Facilities. Once upgraded to a “Promotion Zone,” feed-in-premium (FIP) subsidies will be awarded to projects in the area through economy and land ministries’ auctions.
Hokkaido EPCO’s start of the assessment process comes just four days after Kansai EPCO and RWE submitted primary environmental impact consideration for an up to 1.68GW wind farm they aim to jointly develop in the same area. J-Power , Cosmo Eco Power , and a joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are also undergoing the process for projects in the area, 722MW, 1GW, and 1.5GW in size, respectively.