Wind Turbines of the People, by the People and for the People in Aomori

Green Energy Aomori, a non-profit organization in Aomori City, built a wind turbine that they named the "Shimin Fusha WANDS" (The People's Windmill WANDS) in Ajigasawa, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Construction was completed in mid-February, and the turbine started operation on February 28, 2003.

The 1500-kW wind turbine was manufactured by GE Wind Energy. It is 65 meters high and has three 35-meter-long rotor blades. This project cost approximately 380 million yen (about U.S.$3.2 million) in total, and plans call for citizen funding to cover around 220 million yen (about U.S.$1.8 million) of this total.

The turbine will supply 3.7 million kWh per year, enough to supply the needs of about 1,100 households. WANDS, meaning "ours" in the region's Tsugaru dialect, generated about 800 kWh per hour on its test run and has been running smoothly.



- Citizens' Wind Power Plants Seek Investors (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/254-j

Posted: 2003/04/30 09:31:48 AM
Japanese version