Japan's FAWT Alliance Builds 20 kW Vertical-Axis Floating Prototype

en.Wedoany.com Reported - A consortium of six Japanese companies, the Floating Axis Wind Turbine (FAWT) Alliance, has completed construction of a vertical-axis floating prototype in the waters off Iki City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and has begun power generation. The prototype features a rotor diameter of 9.3 meters, a cylindrical floating body diameter of 1.7 meters, is secured with a three-point mooring system, and has a power generation capacity of approximately 20 kW.

The alliance noted that Japan has very limited shallow water areas suitable for fixed-bottom offshore wind development, making floating wind power a necessary direction. Traditional horizontal-axis wind turbines operate stably and perform well on fixed foundations, but when installed on floating foundations, the floating body and mooring system become excessively large, leading to significant cost increases. The vertical-axis design, based on naval architecture principles, simplifies the structure and lowers the center of gravity, enabling substantial cost reductions in the floating body and mooring system.

According to the plan, this prototype will operate continuously for one year, focusing on verifying the technical feasibility of the vertical-axis floating wind turbine and comparing operational data with previously conducted numerical analyses and wave tank test results. Subsequently, the alliance will advance megawatt-scale demonstration projects, with the goal of achieving commercial application of a 2 MW model by around 2030.