(Bloomberg) — Eurus Energy Holdings Corp., a Japanese
clean energy developer, plans to more than double its wind power
capacity in Japan.
Environmental impact studies are under way for projects
with a combined capacity of more than 740 megawatts in the
northern island of Hokkaido and northern prefectures of Akita
and Iwate, Mitsue Usami, a spokeswoman for the Tokyo-based
company said by phone after the Nikkei newspaper reported on the
projects today.
Eurus currently has 640 megawatts of wind capacity in
Japan, according to Usami, adding that the company is also
considering wind projects in other regions in the country.
Of the planned projects in Hokkaido, one plant will be
built with a couple of turbines off the coast to gain experience
in developing offshore wind, she said. The company plans to
start operations of the new projects around 2020.
Investments in those projects will total about 280 billion
yen ($2.4 billion), including 50 billion yen for a government-supported plan to strengthen transmission lines in northern
Hokkaido, according to Usami. Hokkaido Electric Power Co. and
Eco Power Co. are among those taking part in the grid project.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Chisaki Watanabe in Tokyo at
cwatanabe5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Will Wade at
wwade4@bloomberg.net
Iain Wilson, Abhay Singh