Hitachi, a Japanese electronics company, is reportedly planning to set up a new production line to manufacture nacelles for 5MW wind-power systems, in a bid to expand its footprint into offshore wind projects.
The plans were revealed by Hitachi spokesman Hisahiro Sakai to Bloomberg over a telephonic conversation.
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Without disclosing the costs involved for the development, Sakai said that the facility is expected to be launched by the end of March 2016.
With the launch of the new production line at a plant in Japan’s Ibaraki prefecture, the company intends to produce parts of a turbine that house components such as the gear box and generators used in wind-generation systems.
At Ibaraki prefecture, the company currently manufactures nacelles for 2MW turbines, Bloomberg reported.
The Nikkei newspaper earlier reported that the company will invest several billions of yen for the additional line.
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By GlobalDataHitachi’s first 5MW downwind turbines commenced operations at a station in Ibaraki prefecture on 1 September, reported the publication.
A BNEF analyst Takehiro Kawahara said that Hitachi’s 5MW system has advantages over upwind turbine systems "in terms of reliability and cost effectiveness for offshore wind projects, and is suitable for Japan’s environment."
According to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecast, which analysed trade ministry data Japan is expected to add as much as 260MW of offshore wind capacity within the next five years.
