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Unsuccessful first attempt

The first wind farm fell short of expectations

[Image] Suttsu Power Station
Suttsu Power Station. Started operations in 1989 as the first municipally run wind power station in Japan. However, since its primary purpose was to power local middle schools, the site selected for the facility was not an ideal location, and the operating rate remained low at around 8.1%.
* Photo credit: Suttsu Town

Wind power stations in Suttsu Town date back to the Second Oil Crisis, when the prices of fuels such as kerosene kept rising. The town came up with a plan to build a wind power station facility to reduce the cost of heating for new school buildings, which were built as part of the school consolidation project.
The first municipally operated wind power station developed by the town was regarded as a pioneering work and attracted much attention back in 1989 when it started operating. However...

[Image] Mayor Kataoka

Back when the first wind farm was developed, there existed no legal framework for commercial trading of electricity generated from renewable sources. Because of this, our annual energy output was miniscule. Now that I look back, our first wind farm was just kid's stuff, something that brought little economic benefit. Moreover, as the facility was designed to power local middle schools, the site selected for it was in no way ideal for a wind farm. Due to unfavorable geographic conditions, the facility's output was very small, with an operating rate of around just 8.1%. Operation was subsequently suspended in 2000 due to aging of the main system, and completely discontinued in 2006.

The local people branded the first wind farm as a failure. No one in the town knew what a wind power station really was at the time of development. In an attempt to help them better understand how it works, we told them repeatedly that the facility would cut their electricity bill to zero. To our disadvantage, this turned out to be untrue, as people had to keep paying electricity bills even after the facility came into use. As the initial attempt met with a failure, any mention of wind power stations became taboo, even though the town still advocated the concept of 'town development with the power of wind.'

[Image] Mayor Kataoka

A more robust facility would be vital for success ? that was the lesson we learned from the initial failure. Our initial wind farm was capable of generating only 82.5kw with five 16.5kW wind turbines. In spite of this, we kept emphasizing its benefits, without any thought to its downsides. I would say that we were literally 'leaving everything to the wind,' with no planning in place. In hindsight, we made all our judgments without any professional advice. It could have worked better had we turned to professional institutions such as Hokkaido Electric Power for advice.

[Image] Mr. Haruo Kataoka, Mayor of Suttsu Town

The first wind power station turned out to be unsuccessful due to unfavorable geographical conditions that prevented winds from being utilized fully. However, the lesson learned from this failure changed awareness, and paved way for the development of new wind farms.

Wind Power Stations in Suttsu Town, Hokkaido, Japan

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