Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy is to supply 79 “typhoon-proof turbines” to a major onshore wind development in Japan, as the country attempts to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and develop more renewable energy installations.

The 339.7 megawatt Dohuku project will be located on the island of Hokkaido, Siemens Gamesa said in a statement Wednesday, and consist of four facilities set to be developed by Japan’s Eurus Energy.

The 4.3 MW “typhoon-class” turbines have been designed to cope with the “very high wind speeds” seen in Japan, Siemens Gamesa explained.

Last October, Japan’s Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, said the country would target net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050. In April 2021, he said Japan would target a 46% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2013.

Work still needs to be done for the country to achieve its aims. In 2019, its Agency for Natural Resources and Energy said the country was “largely dependent on fossil fuels” like coal, oil and liquefied natural gas.

Published in March, an Energy Policy Review of Japan by the International Energy Agency laid out the scale of the challenge: “Achieving the aim of carbon-neutrality by 2050 will require Japan to substantially accelerate the deployment of low-carbon technologies, address regulatory and institutional barriers, and further enhance competition in its energy markets.” 

This year has still seen a number of interesting renewable energy projects take shape in the country, however. In February, a tidal turbine built and tested in Scotland was installed in waters off Naru Island, which is part of the larger Goto Island chain.

And in January, it was announced that shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines would partner with a company called Bombora Wave Power to scope for potential project sites in Japan and surrounding regions.