Japan’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Enters Commercial Operation: 220-MW Kitakyushu Hibikinada Offshore Wind Farm Feeds Electricity into the Grid

Tokyo (Japan) - Off the coast of the Japanese city of Kitakyushu, the country’s largest offshore wind farm to date has entered commercial operation in early March. The Kitakyushu Hibikinada Offshore Wind Farm project is operated by Hibiki Wind Energy Co., Ltd., in which the utility company J-Power is also a stakeholder.

The wind farm comprises 25 offshore wind turbines, each with a capacity of 9.6 MW, bringing the total installed capacity to 220 MW. According to J-Power, this makes it currently the largest offshore wind farm in Japan. The wind farm is expected to generate electricity over a period of 20 years.

The project stems from a public tender by the city of Kitakyushu in 2017. A consortium, including J-Power, was awarded the contract for construction and operation. After several years of surveys, construction began in March 2023.

According to Hibiki Wind Energy, the offshore wind farm is expected to produce around 500 million kWh of electricity annually. This corresponds roughly to the electricity needs of about 170,000 households, or around 40 percent of households in the city of Kitakyushu. The turbines are installed on foundations firmly anchored to the seabed.

With the commissioning of this offshore wind farm, Japan’s offshore wind capacity is set to increase significantly. According to the Japan Wind Power Association, offshore wind installations with a capacity of 253 MW were in operation at the end of 2024. Since no additional offshore wind farms were officially commissioned in 2025, this also reflects the status at the end of 2025. With the commissioning of the Kitakyushu Hibikinada Offshore Wind Farm, Japan’s offshore wind capacity rises to nearly 500 MW.

Overall, offshore wind energy has so far played a minor role in Japan’s electricity mix. That is set to change according to the Japanese government’s plans, which target ambitious expansion goals: by 2030, offshore wind capacity is expected to reach 10 GW, and in the long term, capacities of 30 to 45 GW are planned by 2040. The foundation for this is a law introduced in 2019 for the use of marine areas for renewable energy. It regulates tenders and long-term usage rights for projects.

Source: IWR Online, Mar 03 2026