Government to review bidding criteria for offshore wind power generation, focusing on early start-up

The government plans to review the criteria for selecting operators through bidding for offshore wind power generation, which the government is focusing on introducing to realize decarbonization.

In order to ensure a stable supply of electricity, it is necessary to encourage early operation, so the new standard emphasizes the early start of operation.

Since last year, the government has held tenders for three offshore wind power projects off the coast of Akita and Chiba prefectures, but the major trading company "Mitsubishi Corporation" showed overwhelmingly low supply prices.

Under these circumstances, the government plans to review the evaluation criteria for selecting business operators in bidding, in order to encourage the entry of various business operators and develop related industries.

In light of the need to accelerate the introduction of renewable energy in order to secure a stable supply of electricity due to the impact of Russia's military invasion, the new standards will focus on early start-up.

In addition, in addition to setting an upper limit on the size of power generation that one business group can bid on, if the price proposed by the business operator is below a certain standard, the evaluation will be the same and the entire project will be evaluated, not just the price aspect.

In response to this government policy, some have argued that if too much emphasis is placed on the early start of operations, advance development activities will be induced and fair competition will not take place.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20220815/k10013770671000.html