Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (J-POWER), Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO HD), Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (Chubu Electric), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” LINE), and Albatross Technology Inc. (Albatross), have entered into a joint research agreement for a next-generation (floating axis) offshore wind turbine demonstration project, according to “K” Line's release.
The Japanese government has announced the intention to maximize the adoption of renewable energy sources as part of the nation’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Offshore wind power, in particular, is considered a vital part of the initiative to make renewables a primary source of power due to the potential for large-scale installation, lower cost, and economic ripple effects.
In Japan, with limited shallow sea areas, there is growing interest in floating offshore wind power because it can be deployed in deep water. To promote the widespread adoption, it is essential to significantly reduce costs through technological development. In addition, increasing the ratio of domestic production (in Japan) is expected to create a strong economic ripple effect.
Against this backdrop, the five partnering companies in this demonstration project will jointly develop a small-scale (20kW) next-generation experimental floating axis wind turbine that is expected to reduce costs and increase the domestic production ratio. The floating axis wind turbine (FAWT) is a concept under which a vertical-axis wind turbine is supported by a “rotating” cylindrical floating foundation.
The carbon composite material molding technology will be developed in partnership with the Innovative Composite Center (ICC) at the Kanazawa Institute of Technology, and the motion analysis technology will be developed in partnership with Osaka University’s Graduate School of Engineering.