Japan plans to increase its offshore wind energy to 40 times of the present by 2020

Japan environment minister Nobuko Ishihara said recently that Japan hopes to increase the offshore wind power capacity to more than 1 GW by 2020.

This number is 40 times of the present offshore wind power capacity in Japan.

Ishihara was inspecting the Japan’s first floating offshore wind power test unit in the waters near Nagasaki County when he made the above remarks.

Compared with land-based wind power, offshore wind power has the advantages of stable wind blowing. Normally other countries use the method to fix the wind power unit on the seabed. However, Japan is short of the shallow beach that is required for that approach.

As a trump card to be popularized in Japan, the Japanese Ministry of Environment is committed to research and development on a method without a fixed base. They have developed the floating wind turbine that allows the windmill to float on the sea.

Ever since last year, Japanese relevant units have installed 22 meters diameter wind turbine unit in the sea near the island of Nagasaki Count to carry out a capacity 100 kilowatts trial generating operation.

Japan plans to install 80 meters diameter, power generation capacity 2000 kW prototype wind turbines from the year 2013 there and strive to put into practical applications.

More information: www.env.go.jp