Kamisu Nearshore Wind Farm - phase 1

Location

The Kamisu Nearshore Wind Farm is located off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture on Japan's east coast, specifically in the Kashima-nada area.

Developer and Operator

The wind farm was developed and is operated by Wind Power Ibaraki, although the project was initially developed by Komatsu.

Commissioning

The Phase 1 of the Kamisu Nearshore Wind Farm was commissioned in July 2010.

Turbines

• The wind farm in Phase 1 consists of 7 wind turbines.
• Each turbine is a Subaru 80/2.0 model, with a nameplate capacity of 2 MW and a rotor diameter of 80 meters.

Total Nominal Power

The total nominal power output of Phase 1 is 14,000 kW (or 14 MW).

Energy Production

The project generates approximately 3,500 MWh of electricity annually, which is enough to power around 7,000 households.

Foundations

The turbines are installed on fixed foundations, specifically using monopile foundations.

Power Purchase Agreement

The power generated from the project is sold to Tokyo Electric Power Co Holdings under a power purchase agreement that started in 2010.

Contractors Involved

• Toko Electrical Construction provided engineering, procurement, and construction services for the project.
• Hitachi supplied the 7 Subaru 80/2.0 turbines.

Resilience

Notably, the wind farm demonstrated resilience during the 2011 Japanese tsunami. Although the wind farm shut down temporarily due to the tsunami affecting a nearby sub-station, it resumed normal operation just three days later, on March 14, 2011. The turbines experienced no mechanical trouble despite the significant seismic activity and grid irregularities.