Wind Power Stations in Suttsu Town, Hokkaido, Japan

In 1989, Suttsu Town in Hokkaido built the nation's first municipally operated wind power station. It was an attempt to revitalize the town, which was suffering from the rising prices of fuels such as kerosene and fuel oil triggered by the Second Oil Crisis that began in 1978.

(Released in January 2009)

Turning violent winds into an asset to drive town development

Suttsu Town faces the Suttsu Bay on the Sea of Japan side of Hokkaido, and is located south of the Shakotan Peninsula. The town's winds are among the strongest in Japan. These strong winds, called 'dashi' blow from the shore to the ocean, and had long been a major headache for the town's fishermen.
The strong winds are caused by the unique terrain in this region. The distance between the Suttsu Bay on the Sea of Japan side and the Uchiura Bay (also called Volcano Bay) on the Pacific Ocean side is only 20km at its shortest point. Furthermore, the lowland that stretches from Oshamambe toward Suttsu is sandwiched by mountains on both sides. These mountains funnel winds into the valley, producing strong winds.

It was back in 1952 that the town of Suttsu recorded the strongest wind ever in its history. This record maximum wind speed of 49.8m is the strongest ever measured in Hokkaido, and the 4th strongest in Japan.
The 'dashi' wind had long been a headache for Suttsu Town, until a town office employee figured out how to utilize the winds for the benefit of the town. Mr. Haruo Kataoka, then a town office employee, is now Mayor of the town.
We interviewed Mayor Kataoka to learn about how the wind power stations came to be introduced.

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