Japan develops largest floating wind turbine

Japan is surrounded by a lot of sea, but it is very deep. Japan can still generate wind energy with the floating wind turbine.

Prototype floating wind turbine completed in 2025

Japanese energy company Toda and a team from Osaka University have begun developing the largest floating wind turbine ever built. The experiment will start when the prototype is completed, in 2025. The intention is that the prototype can generate 15 MW of electricity.

This is even more than the 12 MW that the largest wind turbine on land, the Haliade-X from General Electrics. The technical requirements for these floating wind turbines are high. They must be able to survive storms. Therefore, they must be well anchored where they are docked. Even if possible, the turbines should be as maintenance-free as possible, because maintenance at sea is very expensive and laborious.

Computer models of floating wind turbine

At this stage, the team is mainly focusing on developing computer models to better understand the cost picture and see how quickly such a platform can be built. The team will also look at the best way to supply electricity from the floating wind turbine to the Japanese power grid.

Demonstration model with 200 m long blades

In 2024, the engineers will build a demonstration model of the floating turbine, which will generate 10 MW of electricity. In 2025 they want to build a turbine with blades of each, don’t be alarmed, 200 m long. That is three times as good as comparable wind turbines. According to estimates, such a turbine will be able to generate between 12 and 15 MW of electricity.

It is much more expensive to build and maintain floating wind turbines, but the Japanese have to. There are no shallow seas like the North Sea near Japan, so the only option left is to let the wind turbine float. Floating windmills are especially interesting for the Japanese, because three times as much sea surface is now available where they can float them.