Wind Energy – Japan
Completed last autumn, the wind turbine installation vessel Blue Wind is now ready to perform.
The vessel is owned by Tokyo-based general contractor Shimizu Corp. Construction costs totalled about $367 million.
Blue Wind left a port in Aioi, Hyogo Prefecture, and anchored off the coast of Hiroshima Prefecture after going through a series of tests.
Japan has set an ambitious goal of developing offshore wind farms capable of generating up to 45 gigawatts, equivalent to the amount of electricity produced by 45 nuclear reactors, by 2040.
And the sole purpose of Blue Wind is to build offshore wind power generation facilities.
The vessel can operate in depths ranging from 10 to 65 meters. Its crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 2,500 tons.
Its first project, scheduled to start in April, is to build three windmills off the coast of Nyuzen, Toyama Prefecture.
It will then work on the construction of windmills for a huge offshore wind farm in Ishikari Bay in Hokkaido.
