Wind roundup: From a Scottish first to Japan's largest
Pamela Largue
Posted on: 7 March 2026
From Japan to the United Kingdom, three wind-related stories caught our attention this week.
Floating wind in the Celtic Sea
Ocean Winds, the 50-50 joint venture between EDPR and ENGIE, has signed an Agreement for Lease with The Crown Estate for a floating offshore wind project site in the Celtic Sea.
The site, the third to be leased through Round 5, will join Ocean Wind’s development pipeline in the UK and could be delivered in phases up to a total capacity of 1.5GW over the next decade.
Adam Morrison, UK Country Manager at Ocean Winds said: "Over the coming years we will begin early-stage development work, engaging with local stakeholders to identify opportunities to deliver lasting benefits to our local communities whilst supporting the UK’s energy security and net zero objectives.”
Julia Rose, Head of Offshore Wind at The Crown Estate, added: “Round 5 is such an exciting opportunity to establish an innovative new technology at commercial scale in the UK, supporting many new jobs whilst also contributing to our national energy security and clean energy transition.”
Offshore wind in Japan
Electric Power Development Co. has announced that the Kitakyushu Hibikinada Offshore Wind Farm project has commenced commercial operation.
The wind farm consists of 25 large-scale Vestas wind turbines, each with an output of 9,600kW, for a total output of 220MW, making it the largest offshore wind power plant in Japan.
The facility will continue power generation operations over the next 20 years.
The project is being developed by a consortium including Kyuden Mirai Energy Co., Inc., Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (J-Power), Hokutaku Co., Ltd., Saibu Gas Co., Ltd. and Kyudenko Corporation.
Scotland’s first community-owned wind farm
The Kilbirnie wind turbine has completed its first full week of operations, becoming Scotland’s first community-owned development to operate commercially without long-term government subsidies.
The 2.5MW turbine in Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire, can contribute over 7,000MWh of electricity per year, powering over 2,000 average Scottish homes.
The announcement follows the UK Government and Great British Energy publishing their Local Power Plan, which aims to invest £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in locally owned clean energy projects to ensure communities can benefit from projects such as Kilbirnie.
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