On 16 April, the Japanese government declared a nationwide “State of Emergency” to stem the spread of COVID-19, which is an expansion of the declaration made by the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for seven prefectures on 7 April 2020. The level of restriction in Japan is moderate compared to other countries. Almost all the factories, transportation, wind project operation and construction have been running business as usual.
Nevertheless, according to Japan Wind Power Association (JWPA), the following concerns remain:
- As business trips to and from Europe have been banned, foreign supervisors cannot visit Japan and therefore WTGs trial operations may be suspended;
- Wind project construction execution may be at the risk. Potential delays in construction work at Tohoku and Hokkaido may cause significant impact on project commission execution, as project contractors must complete construction work before snowfall;
- Negative impacts on the movement of O&M workforce and the flow of components and spare parts to local windfarms;
- Delay of EIA and offshore wind site nomination as it becomes difficult to hold meetings with local residents and communities under the nationwide physical meetings restriction. If the situation continues for more than six months, there will be a potential risk of one-year delay in the development of new projects.
(source: GWEC)
