BERLIN, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The German utilities company E.ON has joined up with Japanese company Kyuden Mirai Energy, in order to enter the Japanese offshore wind energy market, according to a joint press statement by the two companies on Tuesday.
E.ON has sought to enter the Japanese market through "trustful and long-term cooperation with local players" for which Kyuden Mirai Energy "is an excellent partner," said Sven Utermoehlen, chief operating officer at E.ON Climate & Renewables.
The first stage of the agreement will be to "conduct a study to jointly select a project for development, construction and operation in the Kyushu area," the statement noted.
The two companies said they may also consider extending their alliance to other regions in Japan.
In Europe, the Essen-based utilities company E.ON has already installed offshore wind turbines with a capacity of 1.8 gigawatts (GW).
E.ON now plans to expand this business in Japan and has set up a site in Tokyo for this purpose.
Last year, Japan passed a bill allowing wind farms to operate in its territorial waters for up to 30 years, in order to draw domestic and international participants amid the country's shift away from fossil fuels.
"This year could be the memorial year for offshore wind industry in Japan with the new general sea law promoting offshore wind," said Yasuji Akiyama, president of Kyuden Mirai Energy.
Kyuden Mirai currently operates 189 megawatt (MW) renewables capacity from onshore wind, solar and biomass in Japan. The company has set a target to develop 700 MW of renewable energies in 10 years.
