Japan Marine United (JMU) has commenced work on the 30MW Southern Akita Floating Offshore Demonstration Project.
The initiative, led by Marubeni Offshore Wind Development Corporation and a consortium of nine companies, aims to install two floating wind turbines, each with a capacity exceeding 15MW, approximately 25km off the coast of southern Akita Prefecture in waters around 400 metres deep.
The project is slated to run from August 2024 to March 2031, with operations expected to begin by autumn 2029.
The initiative is part of Japan's Green Innovation Fund (Phase 2), supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
Building on Phase 1, where JMU focused on reducing fabrication and installation costs for floating substructures, the company will now engage in further R&D to address technical challenges and support the broader adoption of floating offshore wind technology.