No. 7: Wind generation grows popular in the northernmost part of the Honshu Island (October 5, 2011)

Aomori Prefecture is the northernmost prefecture in the Honshu Island. This prefecture actively takes the initiative in introducing measures to promote renewable energy including wind generation. It has 200 windmills that have a combined generation capacity of about 300,000 kW. The governor of Aomori Prefecture shows the determination to be the leading prefecture in introducing renewable energy.

Leading wind generation companies, such as EurusEnergy and Eco Power, set up bases in this prefecture. Japan Wind Development is also active in this region, and it graded up its base to the headquarters in the Tohoku region. Moves to utilize sunlight are growing in the area facing the Pacific Ocean because it is not snowy. Tohoku Electric Power is constructing a large-scale photovoltaic generation plant inside its premises. A small local organization is operating wind generation and small hydraulic power generation using springwater in the Seikan tunnel. The prefecture is actively developing various kinds of generation using renewable energy. They include generation using water of storage reservoir for agriculture, ocean current power generation, earth thermal generation, and generation using woody biomass.

The efforts to develop technology for smart utilization of power and heat are also in progress. The wind generation plant run by Japan Wind Development has a large storage battery inside the premises to stabilize the output. The company plans to transmit electricity to a building before Tokyo Station about 600 kg away from Aomori Prefecture. Leading companies including Toyota Motor and Hitachi are conducting substantiative experiments of smart grids. Hirosaki University established North Japan Research Institutefor Sustainable Energy, and it is addressing generation using drifting snow.

Besides developing renewable energy, the prefecture is also working on the development of safety technology of nuclear power generation. In fact, International Fusion Energy Research Center affiliated with Japan Atomic Energy Agency has a base in this prefecture.