Recent improvements in aero-generator efficiencies combined with the drive to cut emissions from fossil fuels are encouraging investment in wind power projects throughout Japan. Here, Sean Ottewell looks at a newly-formed association which hopes to oversee and encourage even more expansion of wind power generating capacity.

Five wind power developers in Japan have joined together to promote the use of wind power and exchange ideas to support the growth of such technology in the country. Founding members of the new association - the Wind Power Developers Association (WPDA) - include Tomen Power Japan Corporation, EcoPower, Japan Wind Development and Marubeni Corporation. Electric Power Development Company has joined as a supporting member.
A voluntary association, the WPDA has been set up to provide a business environment and information exchange for the healthy growth of the wind power generation business in Japan.
Since the Kyoto Global Warming conference in 1997, wind power generation in Japan has attracted the attention of not only the country's electric power industry, but also of the general population. As recent technological innovations involving large-scale aero generators have improved efficiency of wind power generation, major wind power developers felt the time was right to enhance their marketing strategies.

Enhancing wind power

At the same time, a number of other developments have occurred which are designed to promote the use of wind power. One is the New Energy Act, which promotes and governs government subsidies to the renewable energy business. In addition, Japanese electric power companies have made environmentally-friendly energy a priority and have announced that they will sign long-term deals to purchase electricity generated by wind energy.
A further boost has come from the formation of a pan-political association to promote green/renewable energy. This body has been considering a bill which obliges electric power companies to purchase a fixed amount of wind power-generated energy. In October last year, the electric power companies themselves set up the Green Power Fund which is designed to encourage the use of natural energy and has a bidding system for new wind power generation projects.
At the same time, a number of wind power projects are currently - or have just - come on line.

New projects

At the end of last year, commercial-scale operations began as scheduled at the Toamame Wind Villa power plant in Uehira, Hokkaido. Construction of the plant began the previous October. With an output of 30 600 kW, it is the largest wind power plant currently operating in Japan. All the electricity it generates is distributed to the Hokkaido Electric Power Company.
The site consists of 19 generating units. Fourteen of these have individual outputs of 1650 kW and were supplied by Danish company Vestas. The other five, each rated at 1500 kW, were supplied by Enercon of Germany.
With an average wind speed of 6.6m/sec at Uehira, the plant will generate about 59m kWh annually - enough to supply 17000 domestic households. Its total construction cost was Yen 6.5b.
Tomen Power Japan Corporation has also announced that it is to build two more wind-powered electricity plants at different locations in northern Japan this year. One will be at Hamatonbetsu, the other at Enbetsu. Both are in Hokkaido prefecture.
Last November, Tomen set up Tomen Power Hamatonbetsu and Tomen Power Enbetsu, both 100 per cent subsidiaries, to operate the plants. These projects are the second stage of its wind power business development in Japan, following earlier successes in Hokkaido and Aomori.
Mid-sized generators, the two new plants will have a combined generation capacity of 5940 kW and cost a total of Yen 1.4b. The two will be put into commercial operation by the end of October this year and will sell electricity to Hokkaido Electric Power Company for 17 years at an average rate of Yen 11.6 per kilowatt hour.
The project at Hamatonbetsu, which faces the Pacific Ocean coast about 100 km south-east of Wakkanai, qualified for a subsidy by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Organisation under Japan's New Energy Act.
Tomen is one of the world's largest wind power developers, with more than 20 stations operating in Europe, the USA and Japan with a combined output of 700 000 kW. In 1999 the company started operation of its 20 000 kW power plant at Tomamae Green Hill Wind Park in Hokkaido - one of Japan's largest-scale wind power projects. It has also announced plans to build a 32 500 kW capacity plant in Shimokita Peninsula, Aomori Prefecture, this year.
"Wind power generation attracts the world's attention as a powerful tool for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. It is also expected that demand for wind power generation will rapidly increase in Japan as the clean energy source of the 21st century," noted Toshio Hori, chief executive officer of Tomen's power and utility projects division.
For its part, the WPDA plans to take a leading role in encouraging further steps by the industry to promote wind power generation and is actively encouraging other developers to join forces with it.