Mitsubishi is considering abandoning offshore wind energy projects in Japan

Mitsubishi Corp announced on Wednesday that it is considering withdrawing from 3 Japanese offshore wind projects.

Three wind farms are owned by Mitsubishi-led consortiums in Japan's Chiba Prefecture and Akita Prefecture. The trading house announced in February it was reevaluating how to proceed given the "significantly altered" business climate.

Mitsubishi recorded a charge for the projects of 52.2 billion Japanese yen (354 millions dollars) earlier this year.

Mitsubishi released a statement saying that they were currently evaluating all options, including the possibility of withdrawing from the project. They added that no decisions had been taken.

Mitsubishi has stated that the Russian war in Ukraine, which led to a spike in fuel and equipment prices as well as an increase in interest rates, forced it to reevaluate its projects.

Consortia led by Mitsubishi won the auctions in 2021. The farms had a capacity of 1,76 gigawatts (GW) with an expected start-up date in 2028-2030.

Japan targets future offshore wind farms with a capacity of 10 GW in 2030 and 45 GW in 2040.

Other winners of Japan offshore auctions included RWE, Iberdrola, and BP.

(source: Reuters)