News Releases

Fukushima Recovery, Experimental Offshore
Floating Wind Farm Project

A consortium made up of Marubeni (project integrator), the University of Tokyo, Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, IHI Marine United, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, Nippon Steel, Hitachi, Furukawa Electric, Shimizu and Mizuho Information & Research are participating in an experimental offshore floating wind farm project sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

This experimental project consists of three floating wind turbines and one floating power sub-station off the coast of Fukushima. The first stage of this experimental project will begin in 2012 and consists of one 2MW floating wind turbine, the world's first 66kV floating power sub-station and undersea cable. In the second stage of the project two 7MW wind turbines will be added between 2013 and 2015.

Fukushima Prefecture expects this experimental project to spawn a new industry in renewable energy and create employment as part of recovery efforts in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Through this experimental project, Fukushima Prefecture hopes to develop a large wind farm industry. It is understood that one of the most important themes of this experimental project is the coexistence of the fishery industry with the offshore wind farm industry. To ensure this the consortium will work hard to maintain good relations with the local fishery industry through strong communication while at the same time pursuing the commercialization of this offshore wind farm project.

We believe that creating a practical wind farm business scheme through this experimental project could lead to the deployment of large scale floating wind farms in the future. Moreover, taking advantage of the experience and knowledge gained through this, the world's first floating wind farm, this business could be expanded on a global basis and lead to the development of a new Japanese export industry.

Table1 Facility Specifications

Facility Name	Scale	Wind Turbine Form	Floating Form	Project Term
Floating Substation	25MVA 66kV	Substation	Advanced Spar	First
Wind Turbine	2MW	Downwind Type	4 Column Semi-Sub	First
Large Wind Turbine	7MW	Oil Pressure Drive Type	3 Column Semi-Sub	Second
Large Wind Turbine	7MW	Oil Pressure Drive Type Or Downwind Type	Advanced Spar	Second

Table2 Consortium Members' Main Roles

Consortium Member	Main Rule
Marubeni Corporation	【Project Integrator】 Feasibility Study, Approval and Licensing, Environment, Fishery Industry, O&M, etc.
The University of Tokyo	【Technical Advisor】 Floating Observation, Technical Developing
Mitsubishi Corporation	Feasibility Study, Approval and Licensing, Environment, Fishery Industry, O&M, etc.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.	Floating Wind Turbine
IHI Marin United Inc.	Floating Wind Turbine Floating Body for Substation
Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.	Floating Wind Turbine
Nippon Steel Corporation	Steel supply
Hitachi, Ltd.	Floating Electric Power Substation
Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.	Undersea Cable
Shimizu Corporation	Construction Technology
Mizuho Information & Research Institute, Inc.	Documentation, Committee Operations

Table3 Experimental Project Marine Area Features

Depth of the Sea	Average Speed of Wind	Max Significant Wave Height	Distance from shore
100～150m	Over 7.0m/s	10～15m	20～40km

Figure1 Rendering