Hitachi has developed a 5MW offshore wind turbine generator system, the HTW5.2-136, with a downwind configuration.
Hitachi has increased the rated power of the new HTW5.2-136 5MW-class wind turbine system to 5.2MW by optimizing its setup and control programs. It has also made it possible to increase output in light-wind regions that have an annual average wind speed below 7.5 m/s by increasing the rotor diameter to 136 m, thereby enlarging the wind swept area by 15% more than the previous model.
In the future, Hitachi intends to market the HTW5.2-136 for use in light-wind regions along the coasts of Honshu, the main island of Japan.
The system is scheduled to begin a trial run in October onshore at the Fukashiba Wind Power Station in Kashima port, which was established by Hitachi Capital Corporation with co-funding by Hitachi on the Kamisu City waterfront in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Should the trial run prove successful, Hitachi Wind Power intends to release the new wind turbine generator system in 2017.
Hitachi has also increased the rated power of the previous model, the HTW5.0-126, to 5.2MW, which will be released as the HTW5.2-127.
Hitachi said it plans to market the HTW5.2-127 for use at windier sites, such as the coasts of Hokkaido, northern part of the Tohoku region on Honshu, and southern Kyushu, which require wind turbines with the ability to withstand stronger winds.
In addition to the first 5MW wind turbine generator system that began operation at Hitachi Wind Power’s Fukashiba Wind Power Station in Kashima port in September 2015, the 5MW system has also been selected for the Fukushima Floating Offshore Wind Farm Demonstration Project (Fukushima FORWARD) currently being undertaken by the Fukushima Offshore Wind Consortium.