Norton Rose Fulbright advises Japan Renewable Energy Corporation on Saikai Enoshima offshore wind project

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Japan Renewable Energy Corporation (JRE) on its joint venture with wpd AG Group on the co-development of the Saikai Enoshima offshore wind project in Nagasaki prefecture, Japan.

The project is designed to install and operate a series of offshore wind farms featuring innovative infrastructure and facilities with the first phase capable of producing up to 299.5 MW of renewable energy. This would provide significant capacity for contributing to achieving Japan’s ambitions for 45 GW of offshore wind power by 2040.

JRE and wpd partner on this project to combine their collective expertise and knowledge of the power generation market in tandem with ongoing discussions with all stakeholders to assess key considerations including environmental impacts and local community interests.

The location of the project is one of four areas designated by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) as “promising sea areas for which preparations for organizing the council and other actions will start”, meaning that the area is central to Japan’s Act on Promoting the Utilization of Sea Areas for the Development of Marine Renewable Energy Power Generation Facilities.

The cross-border Norton Rose Fulbright team was led by London partner Julien Bocobza; with assistance from partner Stephen Rigby, counsel Sarah Tonks and associates Tom Maturi, Jess Ong and Dan Chen. Head of Tokyo George Gibson and counsel Andrew Clarke provided support from Tokyo, and assistance from Norton Rose Fulbright’s Munich office was delivered by head of Munich Klaus Bader and senior associate Rima Dressler. Norton Rose Fulbright represented JRE, with Mori Hamada and Matsumoto acting as Japanese counsel.

Lead partner Julien Bocobza commented:

“We are proud to have advised JRE on this landmark transaction. The offshore wind market is burgeoning in Japan and we have been able to draw on our experience in the sector advising clients globally in order to support JRE in developing this joint venture, which we hope will lead to the successful development of the Saikai Enoshima Offshore Wind Farm and the development of further offshore wind projects in Japan.”