Toda Corporation’s innovative “all-in-one” assembly method could revolutionize floating wind turbine construction, cutting costs and installation time while strengthening Japan’s offshore wind ambitions.
How Japan is reducing the cost of floating wind turbines
A Japanese civil engineering firm has developed an innovative method that lowers the construction costs of floating wind turbines by 20%. Toda Corporation’s approach reduces expenses by preassembling the upper section, including the support tower and blades, on land or on a barge before installation.
How the Toda method works
Toda’s turbine installation technology involves preassembling the tower, nacelle, and blades prior to deployment. The upper structure is then transported to the installation site on a crane barge. A large floating crane lifts the preassembled turbine unit, which is then towed to the floating foundation and installed. The crane lifts the tower using a lower-end connection component, holds it in place with a safety frame, and suspends it between two crane arms. This setup maximizes the lifting capacity of the floating crane without being limited by turbine size.
The conventional method for floating wind turbine construction
Typically, it takes around ten days to assemble a floating wind turbine, but Toda’s approach cuts that time by about three quarters. Under the traditional method, each component is transported separately to the site and assembled there. This process helps reduce the risk of damage caused by oscillations, as the blades reach more than 100 meters in height once mounted.
Proven technology
Toda has also developed technology that simulates the vibrations caused by ships during turbine transport. The company tested the system by transferring a small turbine to a wind farm off Goto City in Nagasaki Prefecture. The experiment provided valuable data and confirmed the method’s effectiveness. According to Nikkei, Toda now aims to gain the expertise needed to build a complete floating offshore wind farm through a pilot project off Hokkaido.
The cost of floating wind turbines
Floating offshore wind turbines differ from fixed-foundation turbines, which are anchored to the seabed and better suited for shallow waters. Floating turbines, however, can cost as much as $66 million per unit, significantly higher than their fixed counterparts. Toda’s method focuses on installing large turbines with a nominal capacity of 15 megawatts.
Offshore wind generation is seen as key to making renewable energy a primary power source. With new technologies designed to lower costs, floating offshore wind could soon become more commercially competitive on a global scale.
Japan’s floating wind turbine sector
Floating wind turbines are particularly suitable for Japan, an island nation surrounded almost entirely by deep waters. In January, Penta-Ocean Construction launched a floating wind technology group that includes several major companies, with the goal of developing a construction method twice as fast as existing approaches.
This technology is attracting growing interest, and analysts expect sustained medium- and long-term growth if it succeeds in reducing costs. “Floating structures are relatively stable even during earthquakes or typhoons,” said Kei Ushigami, head of marine renewable energy at Toda, in an interview with France24.
Global outlook for the floating offshore wind market
The global floating offshore wind market was valued at $367.7 million in 2024 and is projected to reach $7.69 billion by 2034. Beyond Japan, countries such as China, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are introducing major initiatives to accelerate growth in this sector.
Japan’s Ministry of Industry announced plans to select companies that will install 15 gigawatts of floating wind capacity, enough to power nine million homes, by 2040.
