Nikkei reports that Mitsubishi Corp. and others will withdraw from three offshore-wind projects in Japan.

The Nikkei daily reported that a consortium led by Mitsubishi Corp is planning to pull out of three offshore wind projects in Japan's Chiba Prefecture and Akita Prefecture due to concerns about profitability.

Japan, which is heavily dependent on imported energy, has turned towards renewable energy in order to boost energy security and achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050.

When contacted by, a Mitsubishi Corp spokesperson stated that nothing had been decided. The company is also still evaluating its domestic offshore projects.

Mitsubishi led the consortium that won Japan's state-run auctions for offshore wind in 2021.

The government has begun to auction off sites for future offshore farms. It aims to have 10 gigawatts of capacity by 2030, and 45 GW in 2040.

Three projects, led by Mitsubishi Group, will be operated in Akita Prefecture (north) and Chiba Prefecture (east of Tokyo), with a total capacity of 1,76 GW. The target start date is 2028- 2030.

February

Mitsubishi announced that it would review its plans for offshore wind in Japan, given the "significantly altered" business environment. This shows that Japan is not immune from rising costs on offshore wind projects around the world. (Reporting and editing by Susan Fenton, Louise Heavens and Satoshi Kaneko)

(source: Reuters)