Japanese wind power balloons

Japan’s wind energy capacity now stands at 2.5GW, a fivefold increase over the past 10 years.

That capacity continues to rise and will be given a boost this July with the imposition of the feed-in tariff (FIT) system. In FIT, electric utilities will be required to buy at fixed rates, electricity produced by renewable energy providers.

The Japan Wind Power Association expects a notable increase in construction of new wind power farms until around fiscal 2015 due to the time needed to build these systems. It believes Japan is capable of generating 740 million kilowatts of electricity from wind power on land and offshore commercially.

It expects to see Japan's capacity to produce electricity from wind increase to 50 million kilowatts by 2050 to meet over 10% of the country's power demand.