Wind power in Japan

In Japan's electricity sector wind power generates a small proportion of the country's electricity. As of 2019, the country had a total installed capacity of 3,923 MW. Government targets for wind power deployment are relatively low when compared to other countries, at 1.7% of electricity production by 2030.[1] It has been estimated that Japan has the potential for 144 GW for onshore wind and 608 GW of offshore wind capacity.[2]

Turbines at the Nunobiki Plateau Wind Farm, one of the largest wind farms in Japan with 33 turbines

Statistics

1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
2000
2005
2010
2015
2019
Total Capacity – Cumulative installed wind power capacity in megawatts since 2000
Year Capacity[3] Change % Change
2000 136
2001 302 166 122.06%
2002 338 36 11.92%
2003 580 242 71.60%
2004 809 229 39.48%
2005 1,049 240 29.67%
2006 1,309 260 24.79%
2007 1,538 229 17.49%
2008 1,882 344 22.37%
2009 2,186 304 16.15%
2010 2,475 289 13.22%
2011 2,556 81 3.27%
2012 2,641 86 3.33%
2013 2,715 73 2.8%
2014 2,921 214 7.59%
2015 3,167 246 8.42%
2016[4] 3,234 164 2.12%
2017[4] 3,400 170 5.13%
2018[4] 3,654 254 7.47%
2019[4] 3,923 269 7.36%

Government incentives

As of 2017, the feed-in tariff per kWh are 21 yen for onshore and 36 yen for offshore.[5]

Notable projects

The Shin Izumo Wind Farm owned by Eurus Energy was the largest wind farm in Japan as of 2011, comprising 26 turbines with a total nameplate capacity of 78 megawatts.[6]

The Shin Aoyama Wind Farm owned by C-tech is currently the largest wind farm in Japan, as of February 2018. It comprises 40 turbines with a total nameplate capacity of 80 megawatts. The amount of electrical power that can be generated is equivalent to the annual consumption of about 44,000 ordinary households.[7]

The Yurihonjo Offshore Wind Farm located in Akita Prefecture is expected to begin construction in 2021. It will comprise 70-90 turbines with a proposed capacity of as much as 1000 megawatts. Upon completion, its capacity is projected to be the largest offshore wind farm in Japan.[8]

In 2011, Japan stated plans to build a pilot floating wind farm, with six 2-megawatt turbines, off the Fukushima coast.[9] After the evaluation phase is complete in 2016, "Japan plans to build as many as 80 floating wind turbines off Fukushima by 2020."[9]

In 2013, a floating offshore wind turbine was tested about 1 km off the coast of the island of Kabajima in Nagasaki Prefecture. It was a part of a Japanese government test project.[10] This was the first of its kind in Japan.

See also

References

  1. "Japan behind on wind power | The Japan Times". The Japan Times. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  2. Watanabe, Chisaki (2014-02-27). "GE Says Japan Has More Potential to Harness Wind Power". Bloomberg.
  3. "Japan". Japan Wind Energy Association. March 2009. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  4. "Installed Capacity by the end of 2019|Wind Energy International". library.wwindea.org/. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  5. "Japan accelerates wind power development as govt support pays off: study". Reuters. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  6. "May 21, 2009 – Japan's largest-ever Wind Farm completed". Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation. 2009-03-21. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
  7. "Creating new value through collaborative creation: Wind turbines using digital technology". Hitachi. March 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  8. "Wind Power Plant in Akita Might Have Output of 1GW". NikkeiXTech. April 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  9. "Japan Plans Floating Wind Power Plant". Breakbulk. 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2011-10-12.
  10. "Project tests viability of offshore floating wind turbines," Japan Times. 4 April 2013; retrieved 2013-4-30.
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