The renewable energy market is changing rapidly every day. Rera Tech News picks out the latest news about renewable energy and the wind power market that Rera Tech Inc. members found interesting and delivers it to you. This time, we will be covering the news that we paid particular attention to from mid-October to mid-November.
① China's RETEC installed a 220m high-altitude mast for a wind power evaluation project in Zhangbei County, Hebei Province, China.
https://wind.in-en.com/html/wind-2454035.shtml
(The original text is in Chinese, so please translate it using Google Translate or similar.)
A 220m high-altitude wind mast has been constructed in China. As wind turbines become larger and offshore wind observation methods are being developed, the introduction of such high-altitude wind masts is considered essential to verify vertical lidar and other techniques. I strongly feel that there is a need to install at least one high-altitude mast in Japan and create an environment where anyone can conduct tests.
② BP seeks to sell minority stake in offshore wind power project as part of scale-down of renewable energy
https://jp.reuters.com/markets/commodities/E62V2OSPRNOT3J3K62JVP6BCUM-2024-10-18
British oil giant BP is considering selling some of its interests in offshore wind power generation as it seeks to downsize its renewable energy business due to declining profits. It is difficult to balance profitability and corporate philosophy. In the end, with profitability being an important factor in investment decisions, the question of how to increase value and profitability in the wind power industry is likely to become a global issue.
3. Wind power generation on the rooftops of skyscrapers in Japan using Savonius wind turbines
https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/74577
Taisei Corporation and Challenergy, with the cooperation of Mitsui Fudosan, have begun Japan's first wind power demonstration experiment on the rooftop of a skyscraper. The wind conditions on top of a skyscraper are likely to be good, and it would be wonderful if the building could generate its own power using wind power until its power consumption breaks even. It seems difficult to install propeller-type wind turbines in urban areas, so we have high hopes for new wind power generation technology. With most power generation environments concentrated in rural areas, it would be great if we could create a place to generate electricity, even if only a little, in urban areas where a lot of electricity is used.
④ "Research and development of a double-doughnut spar-type floating wind power generation system" was jointly proposed by four industry and academic parties and adopted.
https://www.kumagaigumi.co.jp/news/2024/pr-20240913-1.html
The double-doughnut spar-type floating wind power generation system is designed to be manufactured and assembled in shallow waters while maintaining the stability of conventional spar-type floating foundations. This allows for efficient wind power generation by incorporating the advantages of other floating formats while overcoming their disadvantages. Although maintenance may be difficult due to the large number of wires, I feel that this floating format may make data collection easier than conventional formats.
⑤Japan's largest offshore wind human resources development center opens in Nagasaki
https://www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/who/news/information/2024/20241107-105723.html
The Nippon Foundation and the Nagasaki Marine Industry Cluster Promotion Council, an NPO, have opened the Offshore Wind Human Resources Development Center on Iojima Island off the coast of Nagasaki Port. This is the largest facility in Japan where training can be provided for high-altitude work and safety measures for the installation, operation, and maintenance of offshore wind power generation equipment, and international certification can be obtained. The facility plans to train approximately 1,000 offshore wind power generation engineers per year. It seems that an offshore training platform will also be built in the future, and I was thinking that it could also be used as an offshore wind condition observation facility for research purposes in the future.
⑥Amazon invests 750 billion yen in nuclear power plant development company, moves to secure electricity with the expansion of AI
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20241017/k10014611641000.html
According to the article, American IT giant Amazon is anticipating a surge in electricity consumption due to the spread of generative AI, and will utilize the next-generation nuclear power plant "Small Modular Reactor (SMR)". Although there is some debate as to whether nuclear power should be included as one of the non-fossil fuels like renewable energy, the choice of an influential large company is likely to attract attention.
⑦In China, the government and six central government departments, including the National Energy Administration, issued guidelines encouraging the shift from traditional fossil fuels to renewable energy.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ebffe30819f6aec55aeb21b45ccd12a7ee3a19c7
According to China's National Energy Administration, the total capacity of renewable energy generating facilities installed nationwide from January to September this year was 1 million kilowatts, accounting for 9% of the total, with wind and solar power plants accounting for more than 2 million kilowatts combined. Based on China's recent trends, it seems likely that they will continue to try to scale up existing technologies. This once again brought home to me the inevitability of rapid development and introduction in Japan as well.
8. The Seventh Basic Energy Plan will finalize its outline by the end of the year. Focus will be on the composition of carbon-free energy sources.
https://windjournal.jp/121421/
The Japanese government is currently discussing the 7th Basic Energy Plan to realize a carbon-free society, and is planning to set the ratio of renewable energy and nuclear power by 2040. While aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while responding to the increase in electricity demand due to the spread of artificial intelligence and the expansion of the data center market, it is becoming increasingly difficult to balance this with a stable supply of electricity. Future developments will be closely watched.
Next time, we will continue to bring you carefully selected news that has caught Rera Tech's attention.
As wind condition consultants, Rera Tech Inc. will carry out optimal wind condition surveys that combine "observation" and "estimation" for wind power generation.