(Bloomberg) — A venture set up by Japan’s SoftBank Group
Corp. and partners is holding talks with local governments on
the northern island of Hokkaido on the feasibility of a
transmission line project intended to boost wind power capacity.
The venture is considering a freeze on the project, Kyodo
News agency reported without attribution Wednesday. The Hokkaido
Shimbun, a local newspaper, carried a similar report. Marubeni
Corp., Mitsui & Co. and Hokkaido Electric Power Co. are also
taking part in the project, which is supported by the Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry.
The venture is holding talks with officials from 11 local
governments this week and plans to announce a decision next
week, Kenichi Yuasa, a spokesman for SoftBank, said by phone.
SoftBank’s clean-energy unit has been considering 600
megawatts of wind capacity in the region along the northwestern
coast, Yuasa said.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Chisaki Watanabe in Tokyo at
cwatanabe5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at
landberg@bloomberg.net
Iain Wilson, Indranil Ghosh