Obayashi Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) of Spain to form a partnership towards realizing the "Northern Akita Offshore Wind Farm Project" and contributing to the local community.

Obayashi Group sees decarbonization as a critical issue to achieving a sustainable society. As such, it aims to reduce the entire Group's CO2 emissions to zero. Moreover, it is developing renewable energy generation as a new business, which is one of Obayashi's four existing pillar business after building construction, civil engineering, and real estate development. Currently, Obayashi Group generates enough power annually to meet the needs of about 70,000 households. These include 28 solar power facilities producing 133 MW, one wind power facility producing 6 MW, and one biomass power facility producing 15 MW. Looking ahead, Obayashi Group will continue to promote power generation with natural energy including geothermal and small-scale hydroelectric power. Most especially, it targets wind power, which is becoming a critical energy source that can be made economical by developing on a large scale.

The recently signed MoU with SGRE concerns the "Northern Akita Offshore Wind Farm Project", for which Obayashi Corporation has already been conducting a feasibility study. Having supplied more than 3,100 offshore wind turbines around the world, SGRE is a leader in the industry. As of December 14, 2018, Obayashi granted it as preferred supplier of large wind turbine generators, the type envisioned for this project. SGRE and Obayashi agreed to cooperate to work on a range of areas to make this project a success. Those include ensuring safety during wind turbine installation and maintenance, supporting the development of the infrastructure for offshore wind, and exploring opportunities to collaborate with local suppliers. The two further agreed to promote local community contributions through this project.

By collaborating with SGRE, Obayashi aims to take further steps to realize this project, as well as intends to contribute to the local community through the project.