Belgium-based offshore installation company DEME Offshore and Japanese marine contractor Penta-Ocean Construction are forming a joint venture to focus on the construction of offshore wind farms in Japan.
"The new Joint Venture brings together DEME Offshore’s marine engineering knowledge and decades of experience in the renewables sector, with the highly specialized marine construction technology of Penta-Ocean," DEME Offshore said.
Penta-Ocean will own 51% of the shares in JV with 49% owned by DEME Offshore.
DEME Offshore pointed to the fact that new regulations regarding wind power energy generation at sea, as well as in port and harbor areas, have been introduced in the country and the first wind farm auction round is expected to take place this year.
"Japan has ambitious targets to develop 10 GW of offshore wind power by 2030. While the country has very favourable wind conditions, it also has challenging subsoils, which can be a mixture of sand and rocks," DEME Offshore said.
Niels van Berlaer, Business Unit Director Asia-Pacific DEME Offshore, said: “These complex conditions often mean that drilling expertise is necessary at offshore wind farm locations. But both companies have these skills in-house, given their dredging activities. By bringing these two leading companies together, we believe we can make a significant contribution to the long-term development of the offshore wind sector in Japan. Demonstrating our confidence in the vast potential of the Japanese market, and our willingness to support the sector, we are also considering bringing DEME Offshore equipment into Japan.”
Tetsunori Ohshimo, Senior Managing Executive Officer, Head of Offshore Wind Farm Business Division Group, Penta-Ocean, said: “The new JV company will be a leading specialized offshore marine engineering contractor in Japan, combining our extensive experience and advanced technologies both in Europe and Japan. I am confident that the collaboration between the two companies will contribute greatly to the construction of offshore wind farms and we have the capabilities needed to tackle Japan’s challenging metocean and seismic conditions, as well as the complex seabed conditions.”