RWE, Kyushu Elec weighing joint bid for Japan offshore wind project

TOKYO (Reuters) - German utility RWE <RWEG.DE> and Japan's Kyushu Electric Power <9508.T> said on Thursday they will consider a joint bid in a planned auction for a wind power project off the coast of Yurihonjo City in Akita, northern Japan.

The two companies agreed in April 2019 to jointly study opportunities for fixed-bottom offshore wind project developments in Japan.

They signed a joint bidding agreement to enter into a full-scale feasibility study for the Yurihonjo project, their renewable units said in a statement.

The wind farm is expected to have a power generation capacity of about 700,000 kilowatts, according to an official at Kyuden Mirai Energy, Kyushu Electric's renewable unit.

Japan's offshore power market is expected to take off after the government last year brought in a law to encourage the development of wind farms.

The government has identified 11 areas as potentially suitable for development, four of which were designated as promising.

Yurihonjo is one of the four promising areas.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Jason Neely)