The project is the first onshore wind project for Invenergy in Japan and in Asia. Invenergy, GE Vernova and project construction lead Kajima Corporation have been working closely to reach COD since the main wind turbine components were discharged from the vessels at Tomakomai Port in April 2023.
One unique challenge of the project was coping with snow. Rusutsu, a popular winter resort area in Hokkaido, saw it first snowfall in November and its peak snow fall in December while installation work and commissioning work was ongoing. Daily snow removal work enabled the project to be constructed safely and on schedule.
Steve Swift, Chief Commercial Officer, GE Vernova’s Onshore Wind business said, “The Rusutu Wind Energy Center is one of many GE Vernova-powered projects that are targeted to begin operations in 2024 and demonstrate our commitment to delivering for customers in Japan, which is a priority country in Asia.”
“Invenergy is proud to deliver another operating clean energy project in Japan," said Masa Oya, Senior VP and Japan Business Unit Head at Invenergy. “We are grateful for the people of Rusutsu Village, Hokkaido, the administrative agencies, GE Vernova and our construction lead Kajima Corporation for helping make this project a reality. We look forward to building on our track record to deliver more clean energy solutions in Japan.”
Both companies’ are committed to supporting Japan’s goal of increasing the share of the national electricity mix coming from renewable energy from 36% to 38% by 2030. Over the last 130 years, GE Vernova has contributed towards Japan’s stable power supply by providing power generation equipment including gas turbines, steam turbines, nuclear reactors, hydro and wind turbines.
1 GE's 4.2 MW turbine with a 117 meter-rotor is what we refer to as the 4.2-117.
