Tomamae, a town in Hokkaido facing the Japan Sea, is a Mecca for wind power generation in Japan. The first large-scale commercial wind power generation in Japan started here. The Tomen Corporation built twenty 1,000kW wind turbines and began selling electricity in December 1999 to the Hokkaido Electric Power Co. under a 17-year contract.

In October 2000 the Electric Power Development Company, Ltd. also started wind power generation in Tomamae, and with a 30,000 kW capacity it has become the largest wind farm in Japan.

The Japanese government is putting much focus on wind power, revising its introduction target for the nation drastically. Expectations for wind power generation are rising (the target for 2010 is now 3 million kW, ten times the original target of 300,000 kW).



Posted: 2002/08/25 11:00:25 AM
Japanese version

TAG Eco-product/Business , Energy , Local government , Non-manufacturing industry