Irish-founded engineering company Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions (GDG) is stepping up its international expansion with a move into the Japanese market.
The company is set to support Japan’s ambitious plans to increase wind energy generation as part of the government’s basic energy plan.
GDG, an expert in offshore engineering and geoscience, will partner with local Japanese companies Geo Marine Service Co and Nikken Sekkei, to offer survey specification, wind turbine foundation design and certification process support to the Japanese market.
The move into the Japanese market follows the company’s recent expansion into the United Kingdom, European Union and the United States. The company is on a recruitment drive, with plans to fill 50 roles.
Founded in 2011, GDG was acquired last year for an undisclosed sum by the newly formed Venterra, a coming-together of British businessman Ayman Asfari and other climate technology investors. Founder Paul Doherty has a stake in Venterra.
“The GDG team are experts at finding innovative engineering solutions to support some of the most challenging offshore wind projects around the world and we look forward to building on our current base of foundation design projects in Japan,” said Mr Doherty, executive vice president of engineering at Venterra Group.
“We’re delighted to partner with Japanese organisations who hold invaluable local knowledge of the marine regulatory regime, grid and development procedures. Together, we are committed to supporting projects that contribute to the global sustainability agenda.”
The Japanese government has set a target of 45,000MW of offshore wind by 2040 as it tries to decarbonise and cut energy costs for consumers. However, offshore wind farms in the region bring unique challenges, such as earthquakes, typhoons and unusual geological formation.
“Our aim is to offer solutions for these challenges through combining our extensive experience in onshore wind with GDG and Nikken Sekkei, who can introduce the latest international technologies and knowhow,” said Ken Yoshizumi, representative director of Geo Marine Service.
“We are fully committed to supporting the needs of the Japanese market through competitive foundation design work, which is of major importance in the development of offshore wind farms.”
