Heavy plate from Dillinger for the Akita Noshiro offshore wind farm in Japan

The Akita Noshiro offshore wind farm comprises of the Akita and Noshiro offshore wind farms with a total capacity of 139 MW (55 MW for Akita and 84 MW for Noshiro). These were built in the coastal zone of Akita Prefecture. The total project area of both wind farms covers 730 ha. The wind farms can supply electricity to 48,950 (Aktita) and 75,308 (Noshiro) households annually.

When it comes on stream in April 2022, Akita Noshiro is the first large-scale offshore wind farm ever built on a commercial basis in Japan. The country has only had four pilot fields with a capacity of roughly 20 MW. However, it has embarked on an ambitious plan to develop green energy. The government aims to approve three to four sites with a capacity of 1 GW each year, or 30 sites with a capacity of 10 GW in 10 years.

In water depths of 10 to 30 m, both wind farms were built with V117-4.2MW turbines (Typhon variant) from MHI Vestas (13 for Akita, 20 for Noshiro), which are founded on monopiles. The V117-4.2MW turbine is designed for medium to high wind speeds and can withstand extreme wind conditions which can occur in this water zone. It was thus developed specifically for Japanese weather conditions.

The 33 monopiles and transition pieces account for a total of over 25,000 t of steel. A single monopile weighs up to 883 t, has a length of over 78 m and a diameter of 4.7 to 6 m.

For these monopile foundation structures, Dillinger supplied approx. 26,300 t of heavy plate in thicknesses of 50 to 100 mm.