Company seeks typhoon certification for units that can power 24,000 homes each

TOKYO -- General Electric seeks to bring one of the world's most powerful offshore wind turbines to Japan, where the market for this form of renewable energy is expected to grow, Nikkei has learned.

With an output of 17 to 18 megawatts per unit, one turbine is enough to supply electricity to around 24,000 typical households. GE increased the power output by about 30% over previous models by lengthening the blades and making other improvements.

Marketing activities have been undertaken in the U.S. and other countries. GE is working to obtain T-Class certification, which denotes the ability to withstand typhoon-level wind speeds, in order to market the turbines in Japan as well.

The U.S. company is one of the world's top three manufacturers of offshore wind turbines, along with Denmark's Vestas and Spanish rival Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.

GE has been active in Japan's wind turbine market. It provided turbines to a consortium including trading house Mitsubishi Corp. that was selected by Japan in December 2021 for three large-scale offshore wind projects, one of which is off the coast of the northern prefecture of Akita.

Together with Toshiba, GE also is involved in Japanese production, maintenance and operation of nacelles, which contain the power-generating part of the wind turbine.