The candidate should utilise a holistic framework to give a first assessment of the current business situation regarding the market entry decision in Japan with critical success factors (e.g. market, product/technology, competition, company). 

• Use the following framework with exemplary categories and information to guide the candidate (Exhibit 1)
• If demanded, the information provided in the framework can be shared with the candidate

• The focus of this case is the evaluation of floating wind in Japan, other countries should not be considered

Before continuing with a current floating wind project, the candidate should estimate the total market potential for floating wind in 2050 in Japan, measured in gigawatt which is the common metric for market potential in the energy sector. 

The candidate should start with the area on Japans' coastline in km^2 suitable for floating wind.

• It is expected that 5% of the regions suitable for floating wind will be utilised with floating wind parks until 2050
• Due to the special characteristics of floating wind turbines, 2 turbines per km^2 can be installed
• The candidate can calculate with an average capacity of a floating wind turbine of 8 MW

Currently, there are two auctions for floating wind building sites on the coast of Japan. Before analysing specific opportunities, the candidate should conduct a brief profitability calculation for one floating wind turbine over the lifespan of 20 years to ensure the general investment profitability and provide an initial Go or No-Go recommendation including the previous qualitative factors. 

• The candidate should not include capital costs and interest rates, investments are depreciated linearly over the lifecycle of a turbine
• The service life of a wind turbine is on average 20 years (including all risks) bevor being dismantled and is not expected to increase over time
• As an investment incentive, the power price from floating wind turbines is guaranteed by the Japanese government with a fixed price of 100€ per MWh
• The power produced is measured in MWh and is the product of the turbine capacity (in MW), total hours per year, and a utilization factor in % (since wind turbines do not run 24/7)
• The candidate can calculate with a power-producing rate of 20,000 MWh per annum per wind turbine
• In case of a Go-recommendation, you can ask for arguments against the market entry (e.g. strong competitors with large project pipeline, the business network required especially on the senior level in Japan, domestic business partners required)