DEME Joint Venture Cleared for Japan's First 15MW Offshore Turbine Installation
Bureau Veritas certification in early July moves the Oga-Katagami-Akita project toward a June 2028 commercial start, deploying turbine technology new to Japan.
The Oga-Katagami-Akita offshore wind project in Akita Prefecture received a certificate of conformity from Bureau Veritas Japan Co. on July 6 (2026-07-06), a formal verification milestone ahead of construction. Commercial operations are targeted for June 2028.6
That certification sits behind a contract awarded to Japan Offshore Marine, DEME's Tokyo-based joint venture known as JOM, to install 21 Vestas V236-15MW turbines at the site. The agreement was signed with Oga Katagami Akita Offshore Wind earlier this year.2,3
The turbine specification is significant. The Vestas V236-15MW will be Japan's first 15MW-class machine. Outside China, it is also the first deployment of that capacity class outside Europe. DEME Asia-Pacific offshore energy general manager Frank Jonckheere said the contract "confirms the fact that Japan Offshore Marine has become fully operational and is well-positioned to onboard larger-scale offshore wind projects in Japan."2
Japan's offshore wind market is in an early but consequential phase. The Akita coast has been among the more active zones, and this project adds to an emerging cluster of developments along the Tohoku coastline. The June 2028 commercial operations target compresses an already demanding construction schedule for a vessel-intensive installation job of this scale.6,2
The contrast with the United States is stark. US offshore wind development has effectively stalled under the Trump administration, with projects cancelled or suspended across the Atlantic seaboard. Elsewhere, including Japan, Europe, and parts of Southeast Asia, development has continued, with governments pressing ahead regardless of Washington's position.1
China is moving on a parallel track. CNOOC this month unveiled a floating offshore wind turbine designed to power oil platform operations, reducing offshore platforms' reliance on diesel generation at remote extraction sites. Described as a world first of its type, the technology reflects a different application of offshore wind than the grid-scale deployments advancing in Japan and Europe.7
DEME is active across both geographies. The Belgian offshore marine contractor is simultaneously managing the Nordseecluster A project in the German North Sea, deploying its Norse Wind installation vessel to begin setting 44 Vestas turbines as of June 2026 (2026-06-12). The pace of 15MW-class installation work across multiple markets exposes a hard constraint: specialized vessels capable of handling machines of this size remain scarce, and scheduling them across projects in different regions is a genuine bottleneck on delivery timelines.5
For Japan, JOM's operational status addresses part of that problem. In-country installation capability reduces exposure to global vessel competition and gives Japanese project developers a more direct contracting path. How JOM extends that positioning across the wider pipeline of Japanese offshore wind tenders moving through the regulatory system will define the scope of DEME's regional ambitions.2
Japan's offshore wind regulatory framework has been in transition. Expert meetings and public consultations on new rules governing offshore development ran through early 2026, with finalized guidelines incorporating industry feedback. The policy shift, reported by Japan NRG in June 2026 (2026-06-08), moved away from pure price competition toward criteria giving more weight to supply chain localization and project deliverability, a change that structurally favors ventures with in-country presence over purely international contractors bidding on cost alone.4
Once operational, the project is expected to supply approximately 35 GWh per year. That figure is modest compared with the 1.6GW Nordseecluster A under construction off Germany, but relevant as a proof of concept for Japan's regulatory and engineering pipeline. JKM Asian LNG front-month was priced at $20.98/MMBtu as of July 19 (2026-07-19), and Japanese buyers remain among the most price-exposed LNG importers globally. Domestic renewable capacity carries a strategic value in energy security terms that raw generation volume does not fully capture.4,6
The concrete next test is vessel scheduling. Whether construction timelines hold and supply agreements for three onshore wind sites in Akita, Aomori, and Yamagata prefectures (totaling just under 40MW of combined capacity) are confirmed at the pace needed for a June 2028 commercial start will determine whether the Bureau Veritas certification translates into delivery.4