Tokyo-based Hitachi Ltd. has developed a 5.2 MW offshore wind turbine, the HTW5.2-136, designed to increase output in light-wind regions that have annual average wind speeds below 7.5 m/s.
In addition, the company’s HTW5.0-126, which has been increased to 5.2 MW, will be released as the HTW5.2-127. Hitachi plans to market the HTW5.2-127 for use at windier sites (averaging 10 m/s), such as the coasts of Hokkaido in the northern part of the Tohoku region on Honshu.
The HTW5.2-136 system is scheduled to begin a trial run in October onshore at Hitachi’s Fukashiba Wind Power Station, located on the Kamisu City waterfront in Japan’s Ibaraki Prefecture. Should the trial run prove successful, Hitachi Wind Power intends to release the new system next year.
Hitachi has increased the rated power of the new HTW5.2-136 5 MW-class wind turbine system to 5.2 MW by optimizing its setup and its control programs. Additionally, the rotor diameter has been increased to 136 meters – 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.
