Offshore wind power construction, cumulative economic ripple effect over 20 years is 34 trillion yen / Renewable Energy Institute analysis
Offshore wind power generation is regarded as a trump card for making renewable energy the main power source. The Renewable Energy Institute (Chairman Masayoshi Son) has compiled an analysis of the impact of the construction and operation of offshore wind farms on the Japanese economy. Over the 20 years from 2030 to 2050, the economic ripple effect of construction is expected to be a maximum of 1.66 trillion yen on a single year basis, and a cumulative total of 34 trillion yen. It is estimated that 68,000 people will be employed annually around 2040, when the introduction of the system will reach its peak. By 2050, more than 1.39 million jobs are expected to be created through construction work.
In analyzing the economic ripple effect, the foundation created a scenario for the introduction of offshore wind power generation. Considering the progress of the current project and the period of administrative procedures in the future, it is judged that there is almost no possibility of new introduction by 2025. Therefore, the installed capacity for the same year was set at 0.1 GW, the same as in 2020. After that, it is estimated that the capacity will be gradually increased to 63 gigawatts by 2050.
In the analysis of the effects of constructing offshore wind power, it was assumed that the import ratio of wind turbines to domestic demand would be 46%, and that all facility construction would be carried out by domestic contractors. Based on this calculation, the economic ripple effect of construction on a single year basis is ▽ 2030 = 1.30 trillion yen (single year installation capacity 2.0 GW) ▽ 2035 = 1.60 trillion yen (3.0 GW) ▽ 2040 = 1.66 trillion yen (3.2 GW) ▽ 1945 = 1.43 trillion yen (2.8 GW) ▽ 2050 = 0.88 trillion yen (1.7 GW) Prospect.
We estimated the job creation effect of construction (30-50 years) to be 30,000 to 70,000 people on a single year basis. It is estimated that around 20,000 workers will be directly involved in construction work. However, the number of workers with specialized knowledge and skills in offshore wind power construction is overwhelmingly small compared to construction demand. The development of specialist human resources by both the public and private sectors is likely to become an issue in the future.
In terms of operation, the cumulative economic ripple effect up to 1950 was 940.9 billion yen, and the effect was to create 30,107 jobs annually.
In Japan, concrete movements such as the construction of factories by wind turbine manufacturers, the construction of new SEP ships by general contractors, and the opening of human resource training courses by universities and private companies are becoming more active. Through this analysis, the foundation hopes to quantify the impact of offshore wind power on the Japanese economy, and to accelerate the expansion of its introduction.
