Palfinger enters Japanese offshore wind market

Austrian crane specialist Palfinger has won a contract to deliver 33 fixed boom cranes for Japan’s first large-scale commercial offshore wind farm project.

The 139 MW Akita Noshiro offshore wind farm project comprises two wind farms extending across 730 hectares.

Both will be located in the Akita Prefecture coastal zone, one at Akita port, the other at Noshiro port. The commercial operations are scheduled to begin in 2022/2023.

Palfinger signed the crane supplier agreement with the wind farm construction company Kajima Corporation / Taiko Trading. The deliveries are scheduled to begin in autumn 2020, Palfinger said.

All of the wind farms’ 33 wind turbines will be equipped with Palfinger’s PF8000 fixed boom cranes with an outreach of 2.4 metres and a safe-working-load (SWL) of 1 ton. The commissioning will be coordinated by the Palfinger Asia Pacific wind service hub.

“We feel very honored to be part of this project – it truly is a milestone in the Japanese offshore wind industry. Our colleagues from PALFINGER Japan played an invaluable role in winning this project, we owe them a great deal of gratitude. Now, we have gained a stronger foothold in this region and discovered even more potential for future projects there,” said Iavor Markov, Contract and Tender Manager for Palfinger’s marine and wind cranes.