Stakeholder Analysis for Offshore Wind Power Generation and Challenges to Consensus Building

: Case of Akita Offshore

Abstract

In order to promote measures for reducing greenhouse gases emissions and promoting renewable energy in the context of tackling climate change, the Act on the Use of Marine Space for Renewable Energies was adopted in Japan in 2018 to allow the long-term ocean use and facilitate stakeholder coordination. In this study, the mapping and analyses were carried out on multi-stakeholder interests. The statutory council was rather limited in its membership and fell short of stakeholder inclusiveness. The private sector holds diverse interests depending on the types of business operation such as manufacturing, assembly, construction, maintenance and finance and on the location of headquarters and shareholders. Based on the stakeholder analyses that note diverse interests, it is deemed as vital to support institutional development that is conducive to participatory consensus building and the advancement of local community's interests through sustainable ocean economies.