Wind Power News: Japan
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted.
Locals seek change in plans for wind power plant to save wild birds
TOKYO — Local officials and a bird conservation group requested Monday that an electric power company and the government alter plans to build a wind power plant in Fukui Prefecture in order to prevent birds being killed.
Officials of the Kaga municipal government in Ishikawa Prefecture and of the Wild Bird Society of Japan visited Electric Power Development Co., the plant’s builder, and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy in Tokyo to plead their case.
They argue that as . . .
Nature stifling wind power in Japan; Poor weather, geography point industry toward ocean
About a 2 1/2-hour drive east of central Tokyo, on the edge of the Kanto plain, stands one of the closest wind farms to the capital, whirring away as it generates up to 25,500 kw of clean electricity.
Here in the fishing port of Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, warm and cold currents meet offshore in the Pacific Ocean, creating strong winds that feed about 30 of the 1,400 windmills erected nationwide.
Wind power is drawing increased attention as carbon dioxide emissions accelerate global . . .
Japan wind farm building slows on tighter rules
Japan’s wind power industry installed only 185 megawatts (MW) of capacity in the year ended in March, 2008, less than half of what it installed in 2006/07, as tighter regulations delayed the contruction of wind farms.
The stricter guidelines, which stipulate that wind turbines must clear the same safety regulations that apply to tall buildings, were introduced last summer following a scandal in 2005 over falsified engineering data for apartment blocks. Critics say the new rules are costly to comply with . . .
Japan's largest utility to build its first wind farm
Japan’s biggest utility Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said on Thursday it would build its first wind farm in Shizuoka Prefecture, west of Tokyo, to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
TEPCO said it received permission from the local governments on Thursday to build 11 wind turbines with total capacity of 18.37 megawatts.
The facility, which is scheduled to start commercial operations in October 2011, is projected to reduce 13,000 tonnes of CO2 a year, the company said. It declined to disclose how . . .
Japan's wind-power problem
In the country that hosted the Kyoto Protocol and wrote the book on solar policy, the wind-power industry has ground almost to a halt. Among the culprits: policy, cost and technology challenges.
Windmills lose blades in high winds
The strong winds that buffeted the Tokai and Kanto regions Tuesday apparently snapped the massive blades of two wind turbines in Higashi-Izucho, Shizuoka Prefecture, officials of the company that operates the turbines said.
The site hosts 10 windmills belonging to CEF Izuatagawa Wind Farm Co., a subsidiary of Nemuro, Hokkaido-based wind power generation company Clean Energy Factory Co. Each windmill is 103.5 meters tall, and can generate 1,500 kilowatts. Turbines No. 4 and No. 5 each lost one of their three . . .
Tighter quake-resistance standards hamper wind-power plans
Wind-power companies are complaining that tougher quake-resistance requirements for buildings have made it difficult or even impossible to construct facilities for the clean energy.
They also say that if wind turbines remain covered under the revised Building Standards Law, it would hurt the government’s target for wind-power generation capacity.
The law now requires windmills that are more than 60 meters tall to clear the same quake-resistance screening as those for high-rise buildings.
Of the 59 planned wind-power projects subsidized by the government . . .
Japan taps into ocean winds for power
Overlooking a mountain lake a few hours’ drive from Tokyo, dozens of tall wind turbines spin in the breeze, creating carbon-free power for the world’s fifth-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.
A sudden change in breeze spins the turbines in a different direction, an apt symbol of Japan’s efforts to shift away from fossil fuels for renewable energy such as wind power to help cut its greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
Wind farms — such as the Nunobiki Plateau Wind Farm . . .
Flaws deal a blow to wind power generation
A wind turbine set up in March 2006 was touted as the answer to energy problems in Iga, Mie Prefecture. The clean energy would supplement the power supply for radio relay facilities of a land ministry office that records water levels of the upper reaches of the Kizugawa river.
But there was one problem. The wind turbine fell apart in less than two years.
Malfunctions and accidents involving wind turbines have occurred repeatedly across the country, leading to suspended services and even . . .
Wind turbines to be made of tougher stuff
Power-generating wind turbines will soon have to comply with tough new technical standards to ensure they can withstand typhoons, lightning strikes and other extreme weather conditions.
Wind-power generation is a major pillar in the government’s push to use alternative energy sources to fight global warming. In recent years, however, storms have caused extensive damage to many wind turbines.
International standards drawn up in Europe are not sufficient to protect wind turbines from Japan’s weather patterns, according to officials of the Nuclear . . .
