NKK to Build Japan's Largest Wind Power Plant

NKK has received an order from Hisai City, Mie Prefecture in central Japan to construct the Hisai Sakakibara Wind Power Plant. The wind power plant will be the largest in Japan, with a maximum output of 3,000kW from four 750kW turbines, which are themselves the largest units available in Japan. NKK's ¥800 million full-turnkey order includes civil engineering, the windturbines and system integration. The work will begin soon with the start of operations targeted for December 1998.

The plant uses the energy of wind, a renewable resource, for electric power generation. Wind has been touted as a clean energy source that is kind to the global environment because it is free of carbon dioxide emissions. Wind power plants are already in wide use, providing some 6 million kW of electricity worldwide. Its application in Japan has expanded rapidly in the past several years with increased support from MITI, NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) and other authorities.

NKK has been active in the development and supply of environmental conservation products. In December 1996, the company obtained an exclusive license from Lagerwey Windturbines Ltd. of the Netherlands to sell its windturbines in Japan. Since then, NKK has been actively marketing wind power plants.

Lagerwey has 20 years of experience producing windturbines. The company's smaller (80kW and 250kW) turbines, which employ pitch control and variable speed control systems to continuously vary rotor speed depending on wind speed, are well known for their high efficiency and consistent output. The 750kW unit, which will be introduced to Japan at the Hisai plant, is Lagerwey's latest model and employs a gearless/synchronous turbine in addition to variable speed and pitch control systems. The unit features high efficiency, easy maintenance, less noise and smooth integration with electrical utilities. The unit received the Dutch Industrial Design Award in 1997. Its streamlined shape will fit in well with the landscape at the installation site.

In addition to providing electric power to Hisai City, the wind power plant, with its blades sweeping a circle 50-meters in diameter, will also play a major role in revitalizing the region and promoting science education for its school children.

With this order, NKK's total wind power plant orders in fiscal 1997, along with a project for Okinawa New Energy Development Company (consisting of an 80kW turbine and a 250kW turbine), reached 3,330kW, making NKK's share of the business the greatest in Japan. In the future, NKK plans to expand sales of integrated systems in which wind power generation is combined with end uses such as agricultural and desalination systems.