Abstract
This study presents an approach for estimating the offshore wind potential of Japan. Bathymetry data (1 km mesh) and near shore wind speed data of the year 2018 were used to assess the potential. A turbine with a peak power of 10.6 MW was employed for the analysis. The potential was calculated for multiple regions. These regions are based on the service areas of the major electricity supply companies in Japan. Overall, the results show that Japan has the potential to produce up to 32,028 PJ electricity per year. The electricity demand of 2018 amounts to 3231 PJ. The potential is therefore large enough to cover Japan’s electricity needs ten-times over. The capacity that could theoretically be installed amounts to 2720 GW, which is a multiple of the current worldwide installed capacity of 29.1 GW (2019). In addition to the huge potential, the regional assessment shows that the regions vary greatly in their potential; of all the considered regions, Hokkaido and Kyushu have the highest overall potential.
Highlights
In this work, the Japanese offshore wind potential will be assessed
The following section will give an overview of the methods used to assess the offshore wind potential in Japan
Calculation of the number of turbines required if 80% of the electricity is generated by offshore wind; The following boundary conditions are assumed: There are no storage facilities and the electricity is only used in the producer region; This scenario was chosen based on the Japanese government’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050
Summary
Only a limited number of studies have been conducted to estimate the offshore wind potential in Japan. A detailed study estimating the potential for all of Japan was published in 2002 [1]. A turbine capacity of 3.0 MW was used to calculate the potential. The offshore wind potential was estimated to be 708 TWh (or 2549 PJ) per year [1]. A study from 2014 assessed the offshore wind energy potential for the Kanto coastline [2]. The potential for the Kanto coastline without any restrictions was calculated to be 287 TWh per year [2]. While the first study evaluated the entire offshore wind potential of Japan, only the average wind speeds were used. Due to the intermittency of wind speeds, the potential was underestimated, as the power output increased exponentially until the rated power was reached
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