French floating offshore wind outfit Ideol is working with Shizen Energy to develop a commercial-scale floating wind project located off Kyushu in Japan.
This agreement was signed in Tokyo by Ideol chief executive Paul de la Gueriviere and Shizen Energy founder Masaya Hasegawa during the state visit of the French President Emmanuel Macron.
Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of Economy, attended the signing ceremony.
Ideol and Shizen Energy are jointly examining the implementation of floating offshore wind power projects off the coast of Kyushu, in south-west Japan, and are also considering expanding the partnership to other regions in future.
The multi-MW project will use Ideol’s technology and Shizen’s experience in local project development.
De la Gueriviere said: “With our two full-scale demonstrators in operation in France and in Japan, as well as a pre-commercial wind farm under development in the French Mediterranean, Ideol is at the forefront of a cost competitive and rapidly accelerating floating offshore wind industry.
“We are very excited by another collaboration agreement in this strategic market for Ideol.”
Hasegawa said: “Working on floating wind projects in Japan means to expand the country’s potential of renewable energy significantly, as the country is surrounded by sea areas with deep water and complex geographies.”
Earlier this month Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization inaugurated a floating offshore wind turbine installed in waters with a depth of 50 metres 15km off the coast of Kitakyushu.
The device features a two-bladed Aerodyn 3MW turbine on Ideol’s damping pool floating platform.
NEDO said the demo aims to test the “validity of the system’s design … by comparing design values with various measurement values obtained from the demonstration system, such as those pertaining to electricity production power generation, wave pressure, and mooring force”.
De la Gueriviere said: “Ideol is the only floating wind technology provider with two full-scale demonstrators in two of the most strategic floating wind markets.”