M'bishi Heavy Sees Japan Offshore Wind Power Drive
Date: 08-Nov-07
Country: JAPAN
Author: Risa Maeda
Yoshinori Ueda, a strategic planning manager at Mitsubishi Heavy's power systems headquarters, said on Wednesday that the company was studying technical and economic issues related to off-shore wind power turbines so that it can tap into the potentially lucrative domestic market.
Mitsubishi Heavy, Japan's biggest wind power turbine maker, has a strong presence in the United States. But unlike its European rivals, it lacks experience in the offshore field. Its business in Japan also lags behind global rivals.
"It will take a while in Japan, probably in 2010 or later," he said, referring to the offshore business here. "But we'd like to make preparation," he said in an interview with Reuters.
Japan has subsidised wind farm construction and set a target to boost wind power to 3 gigawatts of installed capacity by 2010, slightly more than double the capacity last year.
It is a way to enhance the zero-emission sector as wind energy is a clean source of fuel that emits very little carbon dioxide (CO2), which is blamed for global warming.
Japan is now seeking to spend 250 million yen (US$2.2 million) in next year's budget to let the private sector study the feasibility of an off-shore wind power facility.
Unlike Europe where several countries have 6-7 percent of their electricity supply generated from wind, the share in Japan is only 0.3 percent or less, Ueda said.
Ueda also said Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc (TEPCO), Kansai Electric Power Co Inc and Chubu Electric Power Co Inc in particular have grid networks big enough to accept more electricity from wind power.
"They're aware that they should do more to rely on new energy sources," Ueda said, referring to the electric power industry's voluntary push toward using less fossil fuels.
Renewed safety concerns about the nuclear sector following an incident at TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world's biggest, when an earthquake struck in July have encouraged the power industry to look into non-nuclear renewable energy sources.
"Is there any place near Tokyo, for example, with good wind, without residents around and where a grid connection is available? It's certainly offshore, possibly near the existing power plants near the coast," he said.
"I'm sure they'll make it to take us to go off shore."
Japan built its first offshore wind turbines in 2003, making it the first country outside Europe to do so. But since the two 660-kilowatt turbines made by Vestas of Denmark started running a year later in Hokkaido, the northeast island of Japan, no further projects have materialised.
Last year Mitsubishi Heavy took a 16 percent share in newly installed wind turbines of a total 429 megawatts in Japan, lagging behind Spain's Gamesa, General Electric Co and Enercon of Germany, according to Danish research company BTM Consult Aps.
(US$1=114.49 Yen)
(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Erica Billingham)