(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Poetically named the HTW5.2-136, Hitachi’s new offshore platform is set up around a downwind configuration and features a 15-percent larger rotor span in order to catch hold of the lightest breezes. How light? Well, Hitachi claims that its newest turbine can take advantage of winds that blow no more than 7.5 m/s (16.77 mph).
So why’s Hitachi pushing so hard on the wind energy front?
Aside from the fact that Hitachi is used to building big and complex systems, the Japanese government has sweetened the pot for companies willing to invest in low-carbon energy technology. Since 2012, a feed-in tariff has been expanding the role of renewable and green energy technologies in Japan. In fact, in a recent report from the green-leaning non-profit Japan for Sustainability, since 2015 more than 100 municipalities across the island nation have developed a “renewable electricity supply [which] was estimated to exceed the electricity demand.”
Given the vast coastlines that Japan enjoys and the relative population density of the country, Hitachi’s newest turbine could make it easier for more cities to join the fold of those that produce more green energy than they demand.
According to Hitachi, the HTW5.2-136 is scheduled to begin field trials in October, but those trials will be taking place on land at the Fukashiba Wind Power Station in Kashima. If those tests prove that the HTW5.2-136 is in fact as efficient as Hitachi claims, the system will be rolled out sometime in 2017.
For more news from the world of wind energy, read about the first offshore wind farm designed using SACS software.