PALFINGER enters Japanese offshore wind market
PALFINGER has officially been commissioned to deliver 33 fixed boom cranes for Japan’s first large-scale commercial offshore wind farm project. With the deliveries beginning in autumn 2020, PALFINGER further expands its market share in Asia-Pacific. Along with the Akita Noshiro wind farms, the cranes will commence operations in 2023.
It was the favorable wind conditions in Japan’s northern region Tohoku that laid the foundations for the first large-scale commercial wind power project: the Akita and Noshiro offshore wind farms. This spring, PALFINGER signed a major crane supplier agreement with the wind farm construction company Kajima Corporation / Taiko Trading. All 33 wind turbine platforms will be equipped with PALFINGER’s well-proven PF8000 fixed boom cranes with an outreach of 2.4 meters and a safe-working-load (SWL) of 1 ton. The first cranes will already be delivered this autumn. Commissioning will be coordinated by the well-established PALFINGER Asia Pacific wind service hub.
The Akita Noshiro offshore wind farm project comprises two wind farms extending across 730 hectares. Both will be located in the Akita Prefecture coastal zone – one at Akita port, the other at Noshiro port. The commercial operations are scheduled to begin in 2022/2023. With a capacity of 139 MW, the Akita Noshiro offshore wind farms are expected to supply electrical power to nearly 130,000 homes.
PALFINGER expands business in Asia-Pacific and gains ground in Japan
Over the last years, PALFINGER has successively been expanding its market share in the Asian-Pacific offshore wind industry, with the Akita Noshiro project being the door-opener to the Japanese market. This new territory came along with a different language, culture and etiquette as well as unknown laws. To overcome these barriers, PALFINGER Japan offered local support and acted as a communication bridge between PALFINGER’s marine headquarter and the client.
“We feel very honored to be part of this project – it truly is a milestone in the Japanese offshore wind industry. Our colleagues from PALFINGER Japan played an invaluable role in winning this project, we owe them a great deal of gratitude. Now, we have gained a stronger foothold in this region and discovered even more potential for future projects there”, says Iavor Markov, Contract and Tender Manager for PALFINGER’s marine and wind cranes.
Further recent and ongoing projects in Asia-Pacific include Formosa 1 phase 2, Yunlin OWF, Changhua OWF and the two OSS for Greater Changhua.
