January 5 (Renewables Now) - Japan plans to set aside JPY 5 billion (USD 43m/EUR 38m) in this fiscal year's supplementary budget to explore options for developing an undersea cable network that would connect offshore wind farms near Hokkaido, the Nikkei reports.

The island country will support the plan through a feasibility study. The initiative is also aligned with the government’s strategy to add up to 45 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2040.

According to the report, Hokkaido’s two high-voltage direct current transmission lines connecting it with the main island of Honshu will be upgraded to carry 1.2 GW by 2028. This, however, is considered to be insufficient for the planned deployments as the northernmost prefecture is intended to host roughly 15 GW of the planned new capacity.

Among the solutions proposed for tackling Hokkaido’s transmission capacity problem is the installation of a subsea line either in the Pacific Ocean or the Sea of Japan. It can potentially link Fukushima or Niigata prefectures to deliver power to the Tokyo metropolitan area.

(JPY 100 = USD 0.863/EUR 0.763)

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