It's to be expected that Japan is looking to distance itself from nuclear power following the Fukushima disaster. Turning its development toward renewable energy sources, the country is one of the global leaders in installed solar capacity; however, it lags in its wind power assets. To this effect, the Japan Wind Power Association recently announced revised targets for the country's wind power capacity.
Validating the opportunity that Japan offers the wind industry, GE (GE 1.30%) is redoubling its efforts on expanding its presence. As reported by Bloomberg, Anne McEntee, CEO of renewable energy at GE Power & Water, addressed the potential in the Japanese market, "As you look at Japan and how we think about the energy mix in Japan, overall energy diversity is key ... We see an opportunity, and that opportunity is in renewables." Wind turbine manufacturers Vestas Wind Systems (VWDRY -1.04%) and Siemens AG (SIEGY -0.53%) share GE's sentiment, also working hard to gobble up market share. According to Vestas Chief Marketing Officer, Morten Albaek, "If Japan is going to reduce its imports of fossil fuels, then you need to get more renewable energy into the energy mix. Wind will play a key role, and offshore wind will be a significant segment inside wind energy."
