Japan’s ministry of environment will launch the first demonstration of potential marine renewable energy, tidal power this fall. Giant turbines will be installed on the seabed of two test sites; near Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture and Goto Island in Nagasaki Prefecture. After testing for up to five years, the ministry aims at commercial operation as early as in 2018. Mitsubishi Heavy Industry will implement the test in Awaji, while Toa Corp. is commissioned to conduct the Nagasaki demonstration.

Flow of marine current rotates underwater turbines and generates electricity. Tidal power generation is stable throughout the year. It is considered ideal locations are straits, where tides move as fast as 2-3m per second. Europe is leading the industry and testing projects on commercial basis are underway.

The environment and economic ministries intend to identify most suitable technologies and procedures such as engineering and environmental assessment through the demonstration as well as to evaluate reliability and cost reduction. The two companies are scheduled to install 500kw generators on the 20-50m deep seabed in 2017-18 after locating the spots. Construction methods are likely to require advanced engineering technologies as waves and current can be inconsistent. (2014/08/04)