Research and Development of Wind Power Generation Technologies

The large-scale deployment of wind power is expected in the medium to long term. However—given Japan's harsh weather conditions—in order to implement long-term, stable wind power generation projects, it is necessary to further reduce power generation costs by improving the reliability of wind turbines as well as developing technology to improve power generation efficiency and enhance maintenance. In addition, given the expansion of the offshore wind power generation market both within and outside Japan, enhancing industrial competitiveness is becoming an important issue.
Regarding wind power generation costs, although differences in facility utilization rates are an issue, Japan's capital costs and operating and maintenance costs are higher than those of other countries. As for offshore wind power generation in particular, because Europe—which leads the way in this field—differs from Japan in terms of its climate and sea conditions as well as its infrastructure (e.g., ships), technical issues and high installation costs have caused its introduction to stagnate.
Therefore, this project has conducted demonstration projects for the installation, operation, and maintenance of fixed-bottom offshore wind power generation and developed guidelines for their introduction so far by overcoming Japan's issues in wind power generation and developing innovative technologies that will contribute to further cost reductions for the purpose of contributing to expanding the introduction of wind power generation and strengthening the competitiveness of the industry. In addition, NEDO has been aiming to reduce the cost of power generation by (1) reducing downtime and operation along with maintenance costs of wind turbines in Japan, (2) developing technologies to improve the amount of power generation, and (3) pursuing technological development that will contribute to improving the international competitiveness in the wind turbine component industry.
Currently, NEDO is working on the development of construction technologies for fixed-bottom offshore wind power generation and the demonstration of floating offshore wind power generation, with the aim of further introducing offshore wind power generation in Japan at steady and dramatic rates by reducing costs.

R&D item [1]

ISHIHARA Takeshi (Professor, the School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo)

R&D Item [1] Research and Development of Offshore Wind Power Generation Technologies

The results of this project will lead to the development of low-cost, highly efficient, reliable, and durable wind turbines, which will strengthen the wind turbine industry in Japan and contribute to the realization of a low-carbon society through market expansion not only in Japan but also overseas.
For the floating offshore wind power generation, it is expected that the introduction of floating offshore wind power generation will be dramatically expanded after 2030 by reducing the cost of power generation as low as that of fixed-bottom offshore wind power generation.
If the low-cost construction technology is applied to the fixed-bottom offshore wind farms currently under preparation for development in Japan, a market worth approximately 900 billion yen will be created.

R&D Item [1] Research and Development of Offshore Wind Power Generation Technologies

• Demonstration of the next-generation floating offshore wind power generation system
  After the completion of the project, for water depths of 50 to 100 m, floating offshore wind power generation system technologies (barge type) that can be put into practical use at a generation cost of 23 yen/kWh will be established, as well as floating offshore wind power generation system technologies (elemental verification) that can achieve a generation cost of 20 yen/kWh or less in 2030. In addition, NEDO will indicate the feasibility of construction technologies and the like that will contribute to further cost reduction of floating offshore wind power to accelerate the generation cost target for 2030.
• Development of the Lower Costs Construction Technologies for Offshore Wind Power Generation
  NEDO will identify technology seeds for the low-cost offshore wind power generation system and establish technologies to reduce capital costs (CAPEX) by 20%. Specific values of reduction targets shall be set when the demonstration begins based on the characteristics of sea areas and other factors to be anticipated.