Orsted fears offshore wind auction delays in Japan

It plans to make a joint bid with TEPCO for a project near Tokyo.

Offshore wind farm developer Orsted expressed concerns the coronavirus may delay auctions for offshore projects as it prepares to enter the market, the head of its Asia-Pacific unit said.

“The pandemic will not influence investment decisions and general confidence in offshore wind, but it could delay the projects’ timeline,” Matthias Bausenwein, president of Orsted Asia-Pacific, told Reuters in an telephone interview.

“We hope that we won’t see any major delays,” he said.

The Danish company and Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) will make a joint bid for a project off Choshi city, near Tokyo, which could happen later this year.

Orsted’s offshore wind projects in Taiwan have not been affected, but they may see an impact over time, Bausenwein said in the late Thursday interview.

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