Wind power in Japan


In Japan's electricity sector wind power generates a small proportion of the country's electricity.
As of 2019, the country had a total installed capacity of 3,923 MW.
Government targets for wind power deployment are relatively low when compared to other countries, at 1.7% of electricity production by 2030.
It has been estimated that Japan has the potential for 144 GW for onshore wind and 608 GW of offshore wind capacity.

Statistics

YearCapacityChange% Change
2000136
2001302166122.06%
20023383611.92%
200358024271.60%
200480922939.48%
20051,04924029.67%
20061,30926024.79%
20071,53822917.49%
20081,882344%
20092,186304%
20102,475289%
20112,55681%
20122,64186%
20132,71573%
20142,921214%
20153,167246%
20163,234164%
20173,400170%
20183,654254%
20193,923269%

Government incentives

, the feed-in tariff per kWh are 21 yen for onshore and 36 yen for offshore.

Notable projects

The Shin Izumo Wind Farm owned by Eurus Energy was the largest wind farm in Japan as of 2011, comprising 26 turbines with a total nameplate capacity of 78 megawatts.
The Shin Aoyama Wind Farm owned by C-tech is currently the largest wind farm in Japan, as of February 2018. It comprises 40 turbines with a total nameplate capacity of 80 megawatts. The amount of electrical power that can be generated is equivalent to the annual consumption of about 44,000 ordinary households.
The Yurihonjo Offshore Wind Farm located in Akita Prefecture is expected to begin construction in 2021. It will comprise 70-90 turbines with a proposed capacity of as much as 1000 megawatts. Upon completion, its capacity is projected to be the largest offshore wind farm in Japan.
In 2011, Japan stated plans to build a pilot floating wind farm, with six 2-megawatt turbines, off the Fukushima coast. After the evaluation phase is complete in 2016, "Japan plans to build as many as 80 floating wind turbines off Fukushima by 2020."
In 2013, a floating offshore wind turbine was tested about 1 km off the coast of the island of Kabajima in Nagasaki Prefecture. It was a part of a Japanese government test project. This was the first of its kind in Japan.