Offshore Wind Innovations Developed in Japan

Offshore wind turbine maintenance is a dangerous task, requiring diving into the water and examining the turbines tower structures, making sure everything is stable and functioning. This task used to be performed by human divers, however, due to Japan’s aging population and the limited number of younger individuals becoming divers, there aren’t enough people for those jobs. That is why a small company in Tokyo developed a robot that uses cameras to send a live video to a laptop. Operators can look for damage and other signs of instability.

Japan’s dedication to innovations related to offshore wind comes from their renewed interest in renewable energy and their pledge to become carbon neutral by 2050, a pledge similar to Canada’s. After the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident in 2011, Japan had to shut down all nuclear reactors. This forced the country to rely entirely on fossil fuels, which now account for more than two-thirds of the country’s electricity generation. To meet their pledge the country has since restarted some of its reactors and placed a heavy interest in renewable energy, especially large-scale offshore wind power projects.

The first large-scale commercial offshore wind project in Japan has been operational for 2 years. Not only has it created opportunities for innovations related to robot technology, but it has also created opportunities for jobs.

Diving robots aren’t the only innovation that sprouted from the country’s heavy interest in wind. A multinational company, Toshiba, has also entered the wind energy industry. They are developing a robot that hopes to revolutionize the maintenance of wind turbines. It has a mechanical arm that reaches into the wind turbine’s nacelle, the housing at the top of the tower that contains the generator and other important components. Toshiba calculates that these innovations can reduce maintenance costs by 25% while also increasing the speed of inspections, leading to a shorter maintenance period for turbines, thus more electricity generation.

Borrum Energy Solutions is also an innovator that leverages the full potential of the wind. The firm designs microgeneration wind turbines and towers that provide rural dwellings with an opportunity to reduce propane/diesel costs while lowering carbon emissions and dependence on the electrical grid.