Japan's Floating Wind Farms For Safer Energy Production

With the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in 2011, Japan has started scouting for other options of safer energy production. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry is now planning to start more offshore floating wind farms. They have allotted $260 million from the reconstruction budget of Japan for the research and development of the offshore floating wind farms. Large companies like Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, IHI Marine United, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, Nippon Steel, Hitachi, Furukawa Electric, Shimizu and Mizuho Information & Research are involved in the project.

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Image Courtesy: georgehernandez.com

The above picture shows the types of anchoring of the floating wind turbines.
The scope of the project includes three floating wind turbines and one floating power sub-station off the coast of Fukushima. The experiment of this project will commence shortly and extend till 2016. First the one 2MW floating wind turbine and the world’s first 66kV floating power sub-station and undersea cable would be constructed and operated. These floating turbines would be fully evaluated till 2016. Additionally two 7MW wind turbines is expected to be added to the project between 2013 and 2015.
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This project aims to develop better energy production methods with aim to prevent any damage to the local fisheries. A mutual relationship is shared between the fishing industry and offshore wind farm industry. It also aims to promote job opportunities for the local people.

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Kamisu wind farm, Image Courtesy: mywindpowersystem.com

The Kamisu wind farm is one floating wind farm comprising of just seven 2 megawatt wind turbines. But this is a safer process and will not fail even in disastrous situations like tsunami and earthquake.  So these energy production methods are being very seriously studied.

Source: Japan to try floating wind turbines