Japan’s largest wind turbine farm went online on December 22nd. (Image Credit: Akita Offshore Wind)
On December 22nd, Japan began operating its first large offshore wind farm, a move geared toward helping the country shift to renewables. The 140 MW installation features two offshore wind farms. The Noshiro Port offshore wind farm that went online is located approximately 300 miles northwest of Tokyo in the sea of Japan. Meanwhile, the Akita Port offshore wind farm “is expected in due course.”
Both Noshiro and Akita have a combined 33 fixed-bottom Vestas wired wind turbines installed by Seajacks International, a UK-based offshore installation firm. Noshiro has 20 4.2 MW turbines, while Akita features 13 4.2 MW turbines.
Electricity will be distributed from this offshore wind farm to Tohoku Electric Power, which secured a 20-year agreement for the farm’s total output. This is expected to supply power to 150,000 homes. Marubeni, a Tokyo-based investment firm, and utilities and banks invested in the farm.
The country’s goal is to deploy 10 GW of offshore turbine capacity by 2030 and 45 GW by 2040. 25% of the power generated in Japan is sourced from renewables. It plans to increase that to 38% by 2030. For reference, the Fukushima nuclear power plant that became a disaster zone produced about 4.7 GW. So, maybe more nuclear isn’t totally necessary.
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