Japan Sets Triple Wind Power Goal: Report
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
The Japanese government hopes to triple its annual supply capacity of wind-powered electricity to 7.5 million kilowatts in the next decade, through development of transmission grids in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region, reported the Yomiuri Shimbun on Monday.
The Japanese government hopes to triple its annual supply capacity of wind-powered electricity to 7.5 million kilowatts in the next decade, through development of transmission grids in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region, reported the Yomiuri Shimbun on Monday.
The project, which will launch in fiscal year 2013, starting from April, will see the public and private sectors spend around 310 billion yen ($3.35 billion) to build the facilities in the two regions; whilst the country as a whole spent $16.3 billion into renewable energy projects last year alone.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, the government hopes that its efforts “will help achieve a desirable balance within the energy supply,” with wind-generated power presently accounting for less than 0.1 percent of the nation’s total power production – at just 179.63 million kilowatt-hours in fiscal year 2011.
“Given the strong winds that regularly blow there, Hokkaido and the coastlines of Tohoku are among the most suitable locations in the nation for wind power generation,” wrote the Japanese Daily. “For the envisaged project, the government has decided to cover the costs of building transmission grids with fees for using the networks collected from wind power generating companies.”
[quote]“Under the envisaged project, the government also will establish research themes for each designated area to develop technologies to achieve a stable supply of wind-generated power,” the paper added.[/quote]Last month, reports also emerged that Japan was preparing to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm just ten miles away from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor disaster site.
The wind farm, once completed, will generate 1 gigawatt of power, reported the New Scientist, with the Fukushima prefecture planning to become completely energy self-sufficient by 2040, using renewable sources alone.
The government estimates that wind power generation cost just about 10 yen per kilowatt hour as of 2010 – almost the same as thermal power generation by liquefied natural gas.
Japan’s wind energy market is set to boom this year, said analysts from Frost and Sullivan, as the country continues to hunt for more alternatives to nuclear power.
“With Japan’s plan to aggressively promote offshore wind projects in the country, the focus of developing offshore wind farms is expected to shift from the West to the East,” stressed Frost and Sullivan.
[quote]“This is expected to attract not only home-grown engineering and construction companies but also global wind turbine manufacturers to re-enter Japan,” they added.[/quote]Related: New Morn or False Dawn? – Japan’s Rare Opportunity For Change: Heizo Takenaka
Related: Fukushima Fallout: Does Nuclear Energy Still Have A Future?
Related: Japan Poised To Become World’s Second Largest Solar Market
Additionally, Japan is also targeting solar power as a renewable energy source. Japan could be the world’s second largest market for solar electricity soon, reported Bloomberg News last year; whilst in Fukushima once more, the prefecture is set to build the world’s largest solar park.
“This project is important – I think it is impossible to use nuclear power in Fukushima again,” said Takeshi Ishihara of the University of Tokyo.
“All extreme conditions have been taken into consideration in the design,” Ishihara added, highlighting that the area’s seismic activity, which caused the nuclear disaster, would not be an issue for renewable energy.
