Current status and future outlook for offshore wind power generation

Current status and future outlook for offshore wind power generation
While I was researching various things to write yesterday's blog, I came across a paper with the title
http://windeng.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ishihara/article/2012-2.pdf
Until now, the impression has been that offshore wind power is suitable for Japan, but is too expensive.
It was so strong that I didn't really look into it.
For more details, please read the paper, but I will introduce some interesting excerpts here.
- As of the end of 2011, the amount of wind power generation capacity in the world exceeded the total capacity owned by Japan's 10 electric power companies.
・While winds are weak in big cities such as Tokyo and New York, the winds in the nearby ocean are strong, and huge wind power plants
In addition, compared to land, there are fewer environmental issues such as poor scenery and noise on the ocean.
In addition, since there are no road or other constraints, large wind turbines are easy to transport and install.
・There are few restrictions on offshore sites, making it possible to build large-scale wind power plants, and the wind turbines can be enlarged and the wind farms can be expanded.
Cost reduction is possible through large-scale construction. In addition, the power grid is strong near large power consumption areas,
Large-scale offshore wind power plants can be easily connected to the grid.
- In 2007 the UK government announced an ambitious target to develop 3300 GW of offshore wind power.
The scale of the project is estimated at approximately 13 trillion yen, with the development of the power grid alone reaching 2 trillion yen.
It will install more than 7000 offshore wind turbines, providing one third of the UK's total electricity consumption.
(By the way, one nuclear power plant has a capacity of about 1 to 3 million KW, but the operating rate of wind power is about XNUMX/XNUMX of that of nuclear power plants.
If it were a nuclear power plant, this would be equivalent to 10 million kW, but still, it would be equivalent to 10 nuclear power plants.
Considering that there were only a little over 30 units in operation, this is an incredible amount.)
At the end of 2011, the installed capacity of offshore wind power in the UK was 2.09 million kW, and by 2016 it was 8.0 million kW.
It is expected to reach 18 million kW in 2020 (Japan's total capacity, including land-based capacity, was 100 million kW in early 2012).
2.5 million kW at the time)
・China is aiming for 30 million kW by 2020
- It is expected to increase 17 times worldwide by 2017 compared to 2011.
Currently, it costs twice as much as onshore wind power, but the goal is to make it equivalent to the current onshore wind power by 2030.
It looks like this.
The UK has a population of about 62 million, which is about half the size of Japan (2/3 of the area), and is a developed country and an island nation.
If Japan aims to reach 33 million kW by 2030, it should be able to achieve at least that much.
Even so, it would be equivalent to about 10 nuclear power plants. As things stand, only the Oi nuclear power plant is operating.
Also, if each industry implements thorough energy conservation measures like Germany, energy consumption can be reduced even if economic growth is positive.
It is also possible.
Furthermore, unfortunately, by 2030, Japan's population will be 10% smaller than it is now.
This is a highly probable prediction. China has all kinds of human rights and environmental issues. However,
At the same time, we are putting a lot of effort into natural energy sources such as solar and wind power.
Japan is completely defeated.
Energy security, CO2, promotion of domestic employment (small-scale decentralized construction work occurring in various locations)
Reduction in energy costs flowing overseas, and improved safety due to the absence of nuclear power plants
The more we look at the numbers, the more we see that the potential of natural energy is increasing dramatically every year.