Alstom to supply wind turbines for Kawazu wind farm in Japan

Alstom has signed a contract with Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation (Eurus Energy) to supply 10 units of ECO ₇₄ Wind Turbines with 70m towers, each with an output of 1.67 MW, to be fully operational in February 2015.

The contract includes the supply of wind turbine generators and supervisions for installation and commissioning of the units at Kawazu, located on the east coast of Izu Peninsula in the Kamo District, Shizuoka, Japan.

The 16.7 MW Kawazu Wind Farm will support Japan’s aim to have wind power generation provide over 10% of the 2008 domestic electric power demand by 2050. Eurus Energy is the largest Japanese and world leading wind energy developer, owning and operating wind farms that supply over 2.2 GW worldwide. Alstom has previously supplied ECO ₇₄ wind turbines for Eurus Energy’s 10 MW Satomi wind farm in Japan. Alstom will also supply 18 MW wind turbines to Higashi Izu II Wind Farm which will be commissioned in 2015.

ECO 74 wind turbine

The Alstom ECO range with its Alstom Pure Torque ® design shifts bending loads directly to the tower, which allows for higher reliability of the drive train and potentially reduced operation and maintenance costs over the wind turbine lifetime. Alstom has adapted its turbine with seismic towers to improve availability in view of Japan’s seismic activity.  In spite of strong typhoons that attack the country 3-5 times a year, the ECO wind turbines have not been affected.

Alfonso Faubel, Senior Vice President, Wind says “We are happy to be a part of Japan’s focus on renewable energy. This success is evidence that we are able to adapt our product to meet our customer’s needs as well as adhere to Japan’s strict building codes. We are pleased to continue our work with Eurus Energy in fulfilling Japan’s targets for wind energy.”

Japan, has a population exceeding 127 million. With its limited domestic energy sources, coupled with huge demand, Japan relies for 80% of its energy supply on foreign sources. In order to diversify its energy sources and focus on increasing domestic energy, Japan has recently increased its focus on renewable energy with the investment of Y 38 trillion (300 million euros) in non-hydroelectric renewable energy with an additional Y 84 trillion (665 million euros) in efficient-energy technology will see an added focus on wind and solar over the next two decades. Japan aims to grow its wind capacity to over 11 GW by 2020 to over 50 GW by 2050.

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