Japan plans world’s largest offshore wind farm near Fukushima

pjhAn offshore farm near Kent, U.K.

The world’s largest offshore wind farm is coming to Japan. Eventually.

From New Scientist:

By 2020, the plan is to build a total of 143 wind turbines on platforms 16 kilometres off the coast of Fukushima, home to the stricken Daiichi nuclear reactor that hit the headlines in March 2011 when it was damaged by an earthquake and tsunami.

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The wind farm, which will generate 1 gigawatt of power once completed, is part of a national plan to increase renewable energy resources following the post-tsunami shutdown of the nation’s 54 nuclear reactors. Only two have since come back online.

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 planned farm will be almost twice the size of the largest such facility currently in operation. By installing the turbines near Fukushima, utilities can leverage the abandoned plant’s now-unused grid connections.

By 2020, it is possible that the United States will still have a wind industry. Stay tuned.