Toshiba and GE plan to start producing nacelles for GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbines in Japan in 2026 and to start gathering local suppliers with capabilities to deliver nacelle components before that, Nikkei reports .
The Japanese and the US company signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2021, under which GE will provide the Haliade-X technology, parts and components for nacelle assembly, and support Toshiba in jointly developing the local supply chain.
According to details GE shared in 2021, the partnership with Toshiba will help localise critical phases of the manufacturing process of GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbine in Japan and support its commercialisation in the country.
Under the agreement, Toshiba will be assembling, warehousing, and transporting Haliade-X nacelles, and also providing preventative maintenance services, and having critical sales and commercial responsibilities for the Japanese market.
The Japanese company will use its Keihin facility in Yokohama for nacelle assembly and plans to roll out some 80 nacelles per year initially.
For the development of the local supply chain that will support the production of nacelles, the partners plan to start selecting suppliers in 2025 , with Toshiba expecting to have around 100 businesses supporting the production, according to Nikkei.
As reported in December 2021, GE Haliade-X wind turbines have been selected for all the projects from Japan’s first fixed-bottom offshore wind auction, all secured by Mitsubishi Corporation-led consortia.
The projects are the 819 MW Yurihonjo wind farm offshore Akita Prefecture, a 478.8 MW Noshiro Mitane Oga project, also off Akita Prefecture, and a 390.6 MW Choshi project off Chiba Prefecture.
The GE Haliade-X turbines selected for all three projects are with an individual capacity of 12.6 MW.