Structural defects delay Japan’s first floating offshore wind farm

Saturday, September 23 2023

Wind Energy – Floating Wind Japan

Japan’s Goto Floating Wind Farm Consortium has postponed the commissioning of the Goto City Offshore Wind Power Generation Project by two years following the discovery of defects in the floating structures to be used for the project.

Purpose of the project, led by Toda Corporation, was to develop the first of a new wave of Japanese floating wind farms.

The project’s commercial operation date was initially scheduled for January 2024. However, the construction process was delayed due to defects discovered in a floating structure during construction.

Accordingly, the consortium filed an application to revise the project’s public occupancy plan, rescheduling the operational startup for January 2026.

The application was approved by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) on 22 September.

TODA Corporation, which oversees the project’s construction operations, announced that the defects were discovered in two floating structures under construction at an onshore yard back in May.

TODA subsequently confirmed the facts, investigated the causes, and considered countermeasures. The company has also taken corrective measures for the defects in the two floating structures and restarted construction work at the onshore yard.

One of the three floating structures already installed off the coast of Sakiyama will be landed on the yard in Fukue Port where the integrity of the floating structure will be verified. Based on the results, TODA plans to decide whether to inspect the remaining two floating structures that were already installed.