I celebrated two special occasions over the past weekend in Washington D.C. First, my better half and I joined a wedding for our close friends’ son. It was a perfect autumn afternoon for the young couple to start their life together. Second, my old college buddies and I played a friendly soccer game. It was so fun to relive our old days on the soccer field together.
Now, let’s get into a couple of energy newsbytes from the past week.
Shangyou Nie
Editor, Well Read
Mitsubishi Corp. Withdraws from Three Offshore Wind Projects in Japan
Crossoverjapan/Shutterstock.com
The challenge facing the offshore wind industry appears to have reached the Asia Pacific region. Mitsubishi Corp. announced that it is withdrawing from three offshore wind projects in Japan, citing rising costs as the main reason for the exit. This is a big blow to Japan’s ambitious plan to install 35–40 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2040.
What happened: According to Bloomberg, Mitsubishi Corp. confirmed last week at the Global Offshore Wind Summit in Akita that it is withdrawing from three offshore wind projects. The exit decision was first announced in late August.
About the projects:
The projects were to provide 1.7 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 1.5 million households.
Two of the three projects were to be located in Akita prefecture, with a third in Chiba prefecture.
GE Vernova was to provide wind turbines for the three projects.
Why Mitsubishi Corp. left:
CEO Katsuya Nakanishi said that construction costs have more than doubled since his company won the development rights for the three projects in 2021.
High interest rates are also part of the challenge.
Japan’s offshore wind goals:
Japan has an ambitious goal to install ten gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and to grow to 35–40 gigawatts by 2040. It currently has 0.25 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity.
Japan relies heavily on fossil fuels for power. It is the second highest importer of LNG after China, with 66 million tonnes of LNG imported in 2024.
One specific challenge to the Japanese offshore wind industry is its frequent typhoons, which require different floating offshore wind technology.
Political pressure stemming from some countries’ retreat from offshore wind, especially the United States, is also part of the challenge.
What they’re saying:
“In Europe, as offshore wind expanded rapidly, competition to develop new models intensified. More and more new series of turbines with higher output were being launched. As multiple projects started up in parallel, supply chain disruptions hit,” said Nakanishi.
Japan is “in a weak position without any domestic wind (turbine) manufacturers,” according to Yasushi Ninomiya, a researcher at Japan’s Institute of Energy Economics.
Yes, but:
Despite the setback, there are still many speakers expressing optimism for Japan’s nascent offshore wind industry at the Akita conference.
“There’s a perception that offshore wind power is dead, but the initiative hasn’t even truly begun,” said Masato Yamada, Senior Vice President of Jera Nex, another renewable energy developer.
Other speakers at the conference called for stronger government support.
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Emerging U.S. LNG developer NextDecade announced on 16 October that it took FID for Train 5 of Rio Grande LNG, located in Corpus Christi, Texas. This is second FID in one month: NextDecade took FID on Train 4 in September.
About Train 5:
The project will cost $6.7 billion and have six million tonnes per year of capacity.
About 4.5 million tonnes—or 75 percent—are under 20-year long term contracts, indexed to Henry Hub plus a fixed fee.
It will be financed 60 percent by debt and 40 by equity.
NextDecade’s equity partners are Global Infrastructure Partners, GIC, and Mubadala.
Bechtel is the turn-key EPC constructor for Train 5, with Honeywell, Baker Hughes, and ABB as the key technology suppliers.
Three buyers have signed sales and purchase agreements: JERA for 2 million tonnes per annum, EQT for 1.5 million tonnes per annum, and ConocoPhillips for 1 million tonnes per annum.
According to NextDecade, Train 5 has a “guaranteed first commercial delivery date” set in 1H 2031.
By the numbers:
NextDecade will have a total capacity of 30 million tonnes per annum of capacity once Train 5 is in operation,
NextDecade is evaluating whether to build Trains 6–8 at the Rio Grande site.
If successful, NextDecade might have a total capacity of around 60 million tonnes per annum.
NextDecade could also become one of the largest U.S. LNG producers together with Cheniere, Sempra, Venture Global LNG, and Woodside Energy.
About NextDecade:
NextDecade has a market cap of $1.6 billion.
NextDecade took FID for Phase 1 of Rio Grande LNG with three trains.
Despite a huge growth trajectory, NextDecade’s share price is down 25 percent YTD in 2025.
In July, NextDecade’s share price jumped 28 percent upon the E.U.’s commitment to buy $750 billion U.S. energy products over the next three years.
TotalEnergies owns 17.1 percent of NextDecade. Total joined 10 percent for Train 4 LNG in September. However, TotalEnergies opted not to participate in Train 5.
There is a general market concern about over-capacity for LNG in the coming two to three years.
There are specific concerns around NextDecade over project delivery, high debt level, and potential equity dilution.
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