Following earlier reports, Mitsubishi Corporation confirmed on August 27, 2025, that it will withdraw from all three offshore wind projects won in Japan’s first auction, with CEO Katsuya Nakanishi saying at a press conference that it would have been difficult to continue with their development even at feed-in-premium (FIP) strike prices more than double the awarded feed-in-tariff (FIT) levels.
According to Mitsubishi’s statement, “the business environment for offshore wind power has significantly changed worldwide due to factors such as tight supply chains, inflation, exchange rates, and rising interest rates” since the company was awarded the projects in 2021.
Nakanishi said construction costs more than doubled from projections made at the time of bidding and that there was risk that they would change further. He said the company considered various scenarios including changing suppliers, adjusting project schedules, and assuming conversion to FIP and longer seabed leasing rights but could not build a feasible business case.
Consortia led by Mitsubishi were awarded a 13.26 yen per kWh FIT for a 478.8MW project off the coast of Noshiro City, Mitane Town, and Oga City in Akita Prefecture, a 16.49 yen per kWh FIT for a 390.6MW project off the coast of Choshi City in Chiba Prefecture, and an 11.99 yen FIT for an 819MW project off the coast of Yurihonjo City in Akita Prefecture.
The three projects represented about 40% of the total capacity awarded to date. Mitsubishi first announced it would be reevaluating their feasibility due to changes in the macroeconomic environment in February 2025.
Tender guidelines suggest the consortia will need to forfeit about 20 billion yen in deposits. Mitsubishi did not specify the loss expected from exiting the business but Nakanishi said it recorded a 52 billion yen impairment loss in FY2024 and that additional losses are expected to be limited. Chubu Electric Power, the majority owner of C-Tech, which is a partner in all three projects, said it expects to take about 17 billion yen in losses related to the projects in FY2025.
With subsequent rounds being held under the FIP scheme, four of the five Round 2 and 3 winning bids being at the 3 yen per kWh “zero-premium” level fully reliant on the developers’ ability to secure PPAs at prices high enough to make operation feasible, and Nakanishi hinting that Mitsubishi could not proceed even if FIP prices were over 20 yen per kWh, the withdrawal adds to concerns about whether more recent winners can deliver their projects as bid.
