Technology:
Experiments
of offshore wind generation are under way in several locations. Offshore wind
turbines being constructed under the initiative of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) offshore of Chiba Prefecture will
start operation in October. Local governments are developing projects to foster
offshore wind generation in alliance with universities and companies. Kyushu University is operating its self-developed “wind lens turbine” that has a cover
around the blades. The original turbine installed on a hexagon base collects
wind and makes the wind velocity 1.5 times stronger.
Unlike
in Europe, the floating wind farm anchored in the seabed with chain is dominant
in Japan because water depth is mostly over 50 m off Japan. The Ministry of Environment plans to increase the output by offshore wind generation 270 times
from the current 30,000 kW to 8,030,000 kW that is equivalent to the output of
eight nuclear power plants by 2030. Developing the technology of the floating
wind farm is critical to achieve this ambitious target.
The
crucial issue of offshore wind generation is high construction cost because it
costs more than three times than a wind generation plant on land. Some offshore
wind generation projects use concrete instead of steel for part of the floating
body to reduce construction cost. Kyushu University is planning to connect
three triangular floating bodies instead of using one hexagon body to reduce
construction cost, and install solar batteries to achieve a total output of
3,000 kW.
The
purchase price of power by wind generation is fixed at 23.1 yen whether or not
it is generated offshore or on land.
The
floating offshore wind generation system
developed by Kyushu University
