Wind farms such as the Nunobiki Plateau Wind Farm on a hill north of Tokyo, which generates enough electricity to power about 35,000 homes a year, have failed to make a dent in Japan¡¯s obligations to cut carbon emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. But Japan is now looking towards the sea, following in the footsteps of Europe, the world¡¯s leader in wind energy, by planning a network of offshore wind farms to tap into the gales of the Pacific Ocean.
"It¡¯s worthwhile entering the sector now because offshore technology is at the cutting-edge," says Mitsutoshi Yamashita, a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official in charge of promoting wind power. "Once we obtain the technology needed, the KW are limitless."
Japan hopes wind power would provide about 0.2 percent of the country¡¯s primary energy supply by March 2011. That figure might rise dramatically if major electric companies follow through with plans to build offshore wind farms near coastal power stations.
The northern Japanese town of Setana in Hokkaido, home to the first offshore wind-for-power system outside Europe, has since 2003 been harnessing the sea breeze with two 600-kW turbines inside a breakwater less than a kilometer off the coast. That¡¯s enough to power 1,00 average-sized houses a year.
"Maintenance is tough," says Shinya Ono, a town official, explaining that the waves are sometimes too high to reach the turbines by boat.
Offshore wind energy is double in power to that harnessed on land, but the power it generates is unpredictable when compared with conventional thermal electricity generation. Nevertheless, sea breeze is seen as more reliable than solar power, and wind turbines require less space and lower investment than nuclear and solar plants.
"There¡¯s a good wind year and a bad wind year, and when added up so far, it just breaks even," Ono says. The Japanese government subsidized construction costs, including turbines the town bought from Denmark¡¯s Vestas.
In Europe it costs about 50 to 100 percent more to build offshore wind farms compared to the ones on land. In Japan, it could cost even more because the country is surrounded by deeper seas.
Japan is set to begin studying the feasibility of offshore wind energy this year. One option may be to follow the example of Scotland, which installed offshore turbines in deep water in 2006. As part of the study, the government is expected to install an offshore wind turbine to determine best engineering practices for the widespread use of the technology. The domestic industry is expected to make a push toward offshore wind turbines by 2012.
Toru Nakao, an engineering consultant with E&E Solutions Inc, a unit of a Japanese non-ferrous smelter Dowa Holdings Co, believes Japan could exploit locations several kilometers off its coastline in the not too distant future. "It¡¯s challenging for us to catch up," he says.
Japan is the world¡¯s third largest consumer of oil, and it is facing increasing pressure to raise its supply of energy from non-polluting sources and reduce its dependence on oil, coal and natural gas, almost all of which are imported from abroad.
Its greenhouse gas emission from April 2006 to March 2007 was still 13 percent above the average level it must meet every year over the next five years under the Kyoto Protocol. But Japan¡¯s per capita emission is among the lowest in the developed world, making it all the more difficult to make further cuts.
Fossil fuels provide two-thirds of Japan¡¯s electricity needs, with other sources such as nuclear and hydropower making up most of the difference. Renewable energy sources¡¯ contribution to Japan¡¯s electricity needs, however, is almost negligible. Under the law, electric power companies must more than double their use of renewable energy sources - wind, solar, small-sized hydro plants, terrestrial heat and biomass - to 1.35 percent of Japan¡¯s total electricity supply by March 2011.
The 1.35 percent target is modest, compared with a 3.3 percent share for wind power in Europe already. Some analysts say this target may has to be raised if Japan is to meet its Kyoto goals.
Another option would be to generate more nuclear power, which already serves a quarter of Japan¡¯s needs. But a string of safety scandals has eroded public confidence in nuclear power, and construction of new plants would take many years.
Helped by government subsidies since the late 1990s, there are more than 1,300 land-based wind turbines in Japan. They are run by regional governments and companies such as Eurus Energy Holdings Co, Electric Power Development Co and Japan Wind Development Co. Their wind farms are scattered mainly across rugged areas in the far north and south of the island chain, far from major users.
Summer typhoons, violent lightning in winter, and a country split between two power systems and regional power grids add to the challenges of harnessing wind power. Yet despite the difficulties, Yoshinori Ueda, a strategic planning manager at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries¡¯ power systems headquarters, says wind power will have to play an increasing part in Japanese energy generation.
Mitsubishi, Japan¡¯s top wind power turbine maker, is trying to catch up with its European rivals with plans to develop sea-based wind turbines in waters near existing power plants, Ueda says.
Separately, Tokyo Electric Power Co, Japan¡¯s biggest electric power company, together with the University of Tokyo is looking into the possibility of a large-scale floating wind farm. To adhere to government regulations, Tokyo Electric buys electricity from wind farms.
But some analysts say big power companies may soon set up their own wind farms at offshore locations near major industrial ports, where a grid network with existing power plants is available.
Back on land, environmental concerns have slowed down efforts to expand power-generating capacity. A plan to set up 16 huge turbines on the slope near the top of Mount Neko, 160 km northwest of Tokyo, has been stuck in the planning stages since 2004. It faces a barrage of complaints from critics worried that construction will contaminate water sources, cause debris flows like the one that caused a fatal disaster at a downstream village in 1981 and threaten native eagles, butterflies and the Japanese serow, a species of goat-antelope.
"Wind is a gift. It¡¯s free of charge. So people tend to assume it¡¯s an easy business," says Teruyoshi Kimura, 59, former engineer who owns an inn at the foot of Mount Neko.
What people don¡¯t realize is harnessing wind to produce enough power to fulfill our needs would still take some time.
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