Major Japanese Wind Power Project Offshore from Port of Kashima Announced

Image by Slaunger. Some Rights Reserved.

Ibaraki Prefecture announced on August 29, 2012, the two companies chosen to construct a wind farm offshore from the port of Kashima: Wind Power Energy Co., a local company in Ibaraki; and Marubeni Corp., a major trading company in Japan with a successful track record in the wind power business both at home and abroad.

In June 2012, the regional government invited the participation of business operators, after designating a nearly 680-hectare area in the waters around the port of Kashima, Kamisu City, for renewable energy utilization (see the following JFS article).

The area designated for building wind power facilities is divided between Wind Power Energy, assigned the northern part, and Marubeni in the southern part. The plan is to install some 50 large wind turbines, each with an output of 5,000 kilowatts (kW). Assuming a total output of 250,000 kW and an annual capacity factor (operating rate) of 30 percent, the new wind farm will have the capacity to generate some 657 million kW-hours per year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 180,000 average households.

The next step for the project is for the two companies to conduct surveys on environmental impacts and navigation safety, as well as to formulate an execution plan and sign an agreement on project implementation with the regional government. The project is slated to begin construction around 2015 and begin generating electricity in stages around 2017.

Related JFS article:
Kashima Port Publicly Seeking Offshore Wind Power Generation Business