JAPAN: Two years on from nuclear disaster, Japan prepares to deploy a floating wind farm to Fukushima

Record ID: 216093

  • Title: JAPAN: Two years on from nuclear disaster, Japan prepares to deploy a floating wind farm to Fukushima
  • Date: 12th July 2013
  • Summary: TOKYO BAY, JAPAN (FILE - JUNE 28, 2013) (REUTERS) MORE OF FLOATING WIND TURBINE BEING PULLED ACROSS TOKYO BAY BY BOATS WHILE SHIPS PASS BY
  • Embargoed: 27th July 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Disasters,Environment,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVA3RVSMDULYEAJ5DFO7G3J1NG8U
  • Story Text: Japan moved parts of a massive floating wind farm towards waters off the coast of Fukushima on Friday (July 12), two years after a massive disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
    The first 2 megawatt wind turbine which is 30-stories high in size left Tokyo late last month followed by the the massive floating substation. The turbine is the first of three which will make up the wind farm, which will become the largest in Japan.
    Once the floating substation joins the turbine they will be connected and tests will be run in September. Power generation is due to start in October and will become the largest floating wind farm in Japan.
    Two more 7 megawatt turbines are to join these either next year or in 2015 and will eventually be capable of generating 16 megawatts of power.
    The first turbine was constructed by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Corporation and the others were made by Mitsubishi Heavy industries and Japan Marine United.
    The government hopes the wind farm will create employment to help Fukushima and the surrounding region recover after it suffered a massive earthquake, tsunami and a nuclear meltdown in 2011.
    "First and foremost, we want to make this a symbol of Fukushima's recovery. Secondly, this floating wind farm concept is the ace up our sleeves for the next stage of renewable energy development," said Keisuke Murakami, chief of Japan's Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry's new and renewable energy development division.
    Japan plans to create the new industry from ground up and and is hopeful the positive effects will spur businesses in other fields and that they will be able to profit from exporting technology.
    "Wind farms consist of over 20,000 different parts and the wind farm industry requires total engineering at par with the automobile industry. We view this as a strategic field where applications to other industries will spread," Murakami said.
    But not everyone is optimistic.
    "Up to now, we have been beaten badly by Korean and Chinese rivals and I can already foresee the same thing happening in the future," said Akihiko Imakata an engineer with Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Corporation.
    Less than one percent of Japan's energy production came from wind power in fiscal 2009, according to a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry report published in 2012.
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