Japan Puts Wind Power Development on the Back Burner
The wind generation networks operate independently of Japan’s nine electric power companies, which also run each of their power grids. Interconnection lines between the power grids, such as the one running under the Tsugaru Strait, are held in reserve principally for delivering power in natural disasters or other emergencies. Hardly any moves have been made to feed in alternate power sources, such as wind power, to the primary power grids on a steady basis.
Globally, total wind generation capability was 121 gigawatts at the end of 2008. That figure is tantamount to the generation capacity of 120 atomic power plants and corresponds a twelvefold increment from over a decade ago.
It is also about nine fold greater than the equivalent figure for solar energy generation globally.
Yet in Japan, solar energy has been separated as the select alternate energy source. The government has plans that will raise solar energy capability to 53 gigawatts, 40 times its current level, by 2030. Modest targets set
And whilst the price of wind generation is between one-fourth and one-fifth that of solar energy, the government nevertheless set a final target for wind generation capacity of a modest 6.6 gigawatts.
Building of wind parks has been procrastinated.
In Tomamae in Hokkaido, where 42 wind turbines jointly operated by the town government and private companies rein in the strong winds from the Sea of Japan to produce electricity, officials have put enlargement designs on hold.
Tomamae promotes wind power as a source of revenue and tourism. With one of the largest turbine farms in the nation, the town has drawn officials from other communities interested in harnessing the wind.
However, several years ago, a utility company that owns the grids started limiting acceptance of wind electricity from the wind energy facility.
Council officials were told that the large influxes of wind-generated power in the grids had caused fluctuations in output and frequency, and lowered the quality of the electricity supply.
In providing electrical energy across the nation, the leading utility companies meticulously balance output with demand to stabilize the voltage and frequency supplied by their networks.
Wind generation supplies, however, tend to fluctuate with wind strength. That means that a power network’s fragile balance can be disrupted if large amounts of wind electricity flood the grid, they said.
With little expectation for development, wind turbines have fallen into disrepair in various parts of Japan, and some generators have been standing immobile for months.
To defeat the problem of wind generation’s unpredictability, a new wind park with 34 wind turbines opened in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, in April 2008. Operated by Tokyo-based Japan Wind Development Co., the Futamata power plant also has storage batteries to hold and stabilize the generated electricity before feeding it into grids. Dubbed a “new generation” wind generation plant, it is the first in the world to combine the two features.
Simply erecting wind turbines would have cost 12 billion yen. Adding the batteries ran the bill up to a hefty 22 billion yen. Central government subsidies paid for one-third.
Meanwhile, the fact that the nation’s nine power companies each operate separate power grids is also to blame for the difficulty in absorbing volatile electricity flows.
Aside from the problems of providing a constant flow of power, other drawbacks posed by wind turbines include possible damage to the landscape, bird strikes and a negative impact on health from low-frequency acoustic waves emitted by rotating turbine blades.
Officials are also wary of constructing wind turbines offshore out of fear of recompense demands from fisheries.
A further problem is that the nation’s demand for electricity has evened out off, delaying the need for new facilities. Still, experts are saying that political action could sweep away such obstructions.
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