A demonstration of tidal current power generation will be carried out in early February off the coast of Goto, Nagasaki Prefecture, as the nation's first test using large-scale equipment.
The test will be conducted by firms including Kyushu Electric Power subsidiary Kyuden Mirai Energy Co., which is based in Fukuoka, under commission from the Environment Ministry. They will test the effectiveness of power generation using the flow of the ocean tides as a new renewable energy source.
According to Kyuden Mirai Energy, a 6,000 kilowatt-scale, tidal current power generation project is underway in Britain, but has not yet been commercialized in Japan.
The experiment, which is scheduled to last until mid February, will cost about 1.8 billion yen, and will involve installing a 25-meter-high British-made generator -- with a maximum output of 500 kilowatts -- at a depth of about 40 meters off the coast of Goto.
"Japan is a small country, and in order to expand renewable energy in our country, we must look to the sea. We want to use the demonstration test as a foundation for commercialization, " said Masakatsu Terazaki, an executive at Kyuden Mirai Energy.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
