Stricter guidelines means Japan installs less wind power
TOKYO, JAPAN - Japan's wind power industry installed 183 megawatts (MW) of capacity in the year ended in March, down 1.3 percent from a year earlier, a government linked research unit said in a report.
Tighter regulations on wind turbines have restricted construction in the past two years and the world's fifth largest greenhouse gas emittor has focused more on solar panels to help to fight global warming.
Japan accounts for only 1.6 percent of the world's wind power market, which is estimated to grow by a record 30,300 MW of installed capacity this year to a total of 152,000 MW, according to the World Wind Energy Association.
The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) said in the report that Japan's wind power installed capacity totaled 1,854 MW as of March, with 1,517 turbines.
The stricter guidelines, which stipulate that wind turbines must clear the same safety regulations that apply to tall buildings, were introduced in 2007 following a scandal over falsified engineering data for apartment blocks.
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BC Hydro had asked for the three per cent increase, but, last year, Energy Minister Michelle Mungall directed the Crown corporation to resubmit its request in order to meet an NDP election promise.
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