Alstom seals 48MW Japan deal

JAPAN: Alstom has been awarded a contract by Green Power Investment Corporation to supply turbines with a total capacity of 48MW for a wind farm in Japan.

The ECO 74 will be used on the project
The French manufacturer will install 29 ECO 74 turbines, each with a nameplate capacity of 1.67MW, for the Hamada wind farm in Shimane prefecture.

In order to deal with the prevalence of earthquakes, the turbines have been specially adapted to withstand high levels of seismic activity, Alstom said.

The machines, which will be fitted to 70-metre towers, are expected to be fully operational in 2016.

With the completion of this latest project, the company will have 83MW of turbines installed in Japan. In February last year, Alstom won a deal to supply turbines with a capacity of 16.7MW to Eurus Energy for use on the Kawazu wind farm.

In 2009, the firm announced it would install turbines on Tokyo Electric Power's 18MW Higashi Izu wind II wind farm. Both of the previous projects also used the ECO 74 turbine.

Despite the great need for alternative sources of energy following the shutdown of nuclear power plants in Japan following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, the country's wind market has remained relatively flat.

Uncertainty surrounding long-term policy meant that the Japanese wind market had a growth rate of less than 2% in the first half of 2013.