Japanese engineering firm JFE Engineering has taken a final investment decision to build a plant to manufacture offshore monopile foundations, targeting to tap potential demand from domestic offshore wind power development projects in the run-up to achieve the country's 2050 decarbonisation target.
JFE Engineering, a wholly-owned engineering subsidiary of JFE Holdings, has decided to invest ¥40bn ($364mn) in building a monopile and transition piece manufacturing plant and a transition piece assembly plant. The company is targeting to begin production by April 2024 in efforts to meet demand expected from proposed wind farm development projects off Akita prefecture on Japan's northwest coast and off Chiba on the central Pacific coast.
The Japanese government is in the tender process of selecting operators for the offshore Akita and Chiba wind power projects as part of its green growth strategy to develop 10,000MW of offshore wind power capacity by 2030 and up to 45,000MW by 2040. Tokyo is also aiming for a 60pc self-sufficiency rate in purchases of materials needed to build offshore wind farms by 2040.
The lucrative wind power sector has lured JFE to enter the market, leveraging on the collective strength of its group companies, such as JFE Steel, JFE Engineering and trading subsidiary JFE Shoji, as well as 35pc-owned shipbuilder Japan Marine United.
The monopile manufacturing plant is planned to be built within JFE Steel's Fukuyama steelworks in Okayama prefecture and have a production capacity of 80,000-100,000t/yr. JFE Steel will supply steel plates for production of monopiles and transition pieces. The proposed transition piece assembly plant will be built at JFE Engineering's Tsu works in Mie prefecture and is expected to assemble around 50 units/yr.
Source : https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news