Japan opts for wind and hydrogen to help achieve its green future

Producing alternative energy is a priority for Japan. The country aims to reach between 36%-38% of renewable power supplies and reduce its greenhouse emissions by 46% by 2030, and energy policies will be one of the issues at the top of the agenda at the G7 Summit to be held in Japan in mid-May.

Its technology is at the forefront of this green revolution, and in this latest episode of Spotlight, we travel to the remote Goto Islands in the Prefecture of Nagasaki, in the South of Japan, to visit a milestone offshore floating wind farm.

With limited land but a large coastal area, offshore wind power could be the answer to Japan’s future energy needs, but it comes with challenges.

Goto is one of the most hard-hit typhoon areas in Japan, a strategic testing zone for the resistance of these floating turbines.

Japan relies on both floating and bottom-fix turbines to generate power. The bottom-fix wind power station of Akita was the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the country. Both types are adapted to Japan's complex topography and natural disasters.

"The fixed type has to be fastened to the seabed, but in Japan the sea gets deep very quickly," explained Ushigami Kei, the Executive manager of Goto Floating Wind Farm LLC.

"It is built by setting first a foundation on the seabed, so it is affected by the topography and geology of the seabed. The floating type is connected by a chain, but it is strong against earthquakes because it is not affected by the sea ground topology."

The challenge for these floating structures is to deal with typhoons and the power of waves. Stabilisation mechanisms take knowledge from shipbuilding technology to minimize the swaying.

“The structure is designed to be stable by lowering the centre of gravity