The two companies will develop early-stage wind projects with fixed-bottom foundations off Chiba prefecture in the south-east of Japan’s main island.
Earlier this year, Japanese authorities identified a site off Choshi city in Chiba — Northland and Shizen’s targetted region — as an ‘advanced’ area for offshore wind deployment.
A Shizen Energy spokeswoman told Windpower Monthly the JV aims to build the 600MW of capacity by 2026-27.
She added, however, that the JV was not ready to specify how many projects would be included in the portfolio.
Shizen has contributed to the development of about 1GW of renewable energy projects in Japan, it claimed.
It is also plans to develop a commercial-scale floating wind farm with French foundation specialist Ideol off Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost island.
The Japanese company commissioned a solar PV plant in Brazil earlier this year, and is working on solar arrays in Vietnam and Thailand.
Northland, meanwhile, has a net interest in more than 2GW of operational clean energy projects worldwide.
It owns a 60% stake in the 1,044MW Hai Long offshore wind cluster under development in Taiwan.
The tie-up with Shizen marks the Candian developer’s entry into the Japanese offshore wind market.
Japan has just 65MW of offshore wind capacity currently installed, according to Windpower Intelligence, the research and data division of Windpower Monthly.
In December 2018, the country’s parliament approved a bill enabling development rights for offshore wind zones to be auctioned.
The ministry of economy, trade and industry is currently preparing the regulatory details for the auction, according to the Japanese Wind Power Association.
