The Carbon Trust is working as part of a consortium created to progress the development of tidal and floating wind energy test centre in Japan.
The Carbon Trust has been working closely with both the Wind Energy Institute of Tokyo and the Nagasaki Marine Industry Cluster Promotion Association on the development of offshore renewable test site in the Nagasaki Prefecture, commissioned by the Nagasaki government.
The Carbon Trust has led engagement with international stakeholders to assess the level of demand and scope the key design requirements to ensure the facility is attractive to an international renewable energy market.
The project has also involved a review of what would be required to enable the Nagasaki Prefecture to develop a local supply chain to complement the proposed test centre, according to Carbon Trust.
“The creation of the Nagasaki Asia Marine Energy Centre is an important step to accelerate development of ocean renewable energy in Japan as well as to create new marine industrial cluster in Nagasaki. Having the support from the Carbon Trust, which has accumulated valuable expertise in both tidal energy and offshore wind, we trust that the Nagasaki Asia Marine Energy Centre will be successfully realised,” Takaaki Morita , Director of Marine Industry Development Office at Nagasaki Prefecture Government, said.
Japan’s energy policy defines marine renewables as one of the higher priority technologies, and the government has committed to producing between 22-24% of its total power generation from renewables by 2030.
The creation of a renewable energy site is specifically highlighted as an important measure to secure the future of the marine energy sector in Japan and to deliver a range of benefits including: reduced development costs; improved safety; increased private investment; enhanced international competitiveness; and a revitalised local economy, Carbon Trust’s press release reads.
Development of the test centre is ongoing with the aim of opening a fully operational testing site from 2018.
The Nagasaki Asia Marine Energy Centre will act as a hub for the Asian market, under the close collaboration with Japanese Government, to enable developers to conduct deployment tests in realistic met-ocean conditions.