Offshore wind farms in the EU and Japan
By the end of 2009, the 27 member states of the EU combined produced the largest amount of wind-generated electricity in the world. Their total installed capacity of offshore wind farms reached 2,603 Megawatts (Mw).
Europe is not alone in promoting offshore wind energy though. Japan has followed suit, and led by Prime Minister Hatoyama, a senior government panel announced plans on May 8 to install massive offshore wind farms by 2020.
According to a source of Kyodo News, the planned wind farms will be capable of generating the same amount of electricity as ten nuclear power plants in Japan.
The initiative falls in line with Japan’s ‘3E’ energy policy: energy security, economic growth, and environmental protection. In a world of fleeting natural resources and international competition, this seems like a logical step to take.
But Japan is the third largest consumer of oil globally, and for now, its energy policy is far from self-sufficient: 82% of its total primary energy supply was imported in 2007, according to the Asian Pacific Energy Research Centre.
And as 66% of energy in Japan is generated from thermal fuels (oil, coal and natural gas), environmentally-friendlier solutions such as wind farms are needed if Japan is to meet its highly ambitious target of a 25% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020.
Hatoyama also hopes the establishment of offshore facilities will generate additional jobs. The erection of offshore wind turbines will affect a host of industries, such as steel-working and electronics. R&D investment is also needed as wind turbines will need to stand amidst typhoons and earthquakes.
Companies such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are well placed to take advantage of potential government subsidies and loans. In February, it invested heavily in an offshore wind turbine project in the United Kingdom, a leading market for offshore wind energy.
But Japan’s companies may face stiff competition if foreign companies choose to enter the fray for offshore wind turbines. Some already supply Japan’s land wind turbines.
Potential players include the nine industry heavyweights supplying Europe’s offshore markets, such as Siemens of Germany, Denmark’s Vestas, and Finland’s WinWinD. StatoilHydro from Norway constructed the world’s first floating wind turbine, a giant weighing 5,300 tons, and the only turbine capable of operating in waters as deep as 700 meters.