Tokyo, Japan – The Renewables Consulting Group (RCG), a sector specialist advisory firm, continues its expansion into Japan ahead of the country’s expected offshore wind growth.
Last year, the Japanese government announced plans to install as much as 45GW of offshore wind capacity by 2040 with an interim target of 10 GW by 2030. Japan also set new feed-in tariff rates for offshore wind that will result in large-scale offshore wind development at multiple sites during the next decade [↑]. To accommodate the coming demand, RCG has responded with plans for new recruitment while bolstering its market intelligence, due diligence and technical advisory service offerings.
Located in Tokyo’s financial center, RCG’s office in the Marunouchi district affords our Asia Pacific team a local base of operations. Over the coming months, RCG plans to significantly expand the Asia Pacific region team to as many as 15 staff, through a combination of local experts, and experienced European offshore wind expatriates, who have either already relocated to Japan, or will do so when travel restrictions are eased. RCG’s continued in-country growth means the firm is able to put an experienced team – including senior personnel – on any renewable energy engagement in Japan and the broader Asia Pacific region.
This week, Hideto Seto joined RCG as Associate Director. He has more than 15 years’ experience in the wind energy industry working across a broad range of operational, commercial and account management roles. Seto is an expert in wind turbine operation and maintenance (O&M) management, project management and account relationship building. He provides clients with solutions for wind farm planning, lifetime operation cost optimization and project management.
With experience spanning both project management and O&M execution for international clients, Seto has held multiple industry leadership roles. He has extensive experience in service management from planning to execution. This includes providing clients optimisation plans for existing wind farm assets to drive reliability improvements, the use of state-of-the-art digital technologies to yield performance improvements, and lifetime operation budget planning for new wind farm developments. He has also led the launch of new O&M organizations in multiple countries, including relationship building with local contractors.
Commenting on the news, Gareth Lewis, RCG’s Managing Director for the APAC Region said:
“With an aggressive near-term target, we continue to see Japan as a major offshore wind growth market. As a result, RCG has responded with the hiring of Hideto Seto, who brings with him a wealth of experience in service operations, account management and project management. With Seto on board – and the fact that we are already providing advisory services for Japanese offshore wind projects – will accelerate further business expansion in Japan’s renewables market.” – Gareth Lewis, Managing Director, APAC
The Tokyo office – along with RCG’s office in Taiwan – is leading the acceleration of the firm’s Asia Pacific platform to realise its goal of providing a top-tier market intelligence, management consulting, and technical advisory service to the renewable sector and delivering long-term value for clients.
