The Largest Offshore Wind Farm In The World Will Be Near Fukushima, Japan

The Japanese government is constructing a one-gigawatt wind farm consisting of 143 turbines, which will make it the largest in the world when it's completed in 2020 (if no one beats it by then).


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The Largest Offshore Wind Farm In The World Will Be Near Fukushima, Japan

The Largest Offshore Wind Farm In The World Will Be Near Fukushima, Japan Image:

By Morgan Clendaniel

The Japanese government is constructing a one-gigawatt wind farm consisting of 143 turbines, which will make it the largest in the world when it's completed in 2020 (if no one beats it by then). The wind farm is part of the country's plans to get itself off nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, and these turbines will be just offshore from the melted-down Daiichi reactor.

The project is part of Fukushima's plan to become completely energy self-sufficient by 2040, using renewable sources alone. The prefecture is also set to build the country's biggest solar park.

The wind farm will surpass the 504 megawatts generated by the 140 turbines at the Greater Gabbard farm off the coast of Suffolk, UK - currently the world's largest farm. This accolade will soon pass to the London Array in the Thames Estuary, where 175 turbines will produce 630 megawatts of power when it comes online later this year. The Fukushima farm will beat this, too.

The turbines won't be anchored in water, but will float on platforms that have been designed to withstand future earthquakes and tsunamis.




Fast Company Copyright 2013 by Fast Company. Reprinted with permission.


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