Classes Begin at Nagasaki Ocean AcademyAsia’s first academy for professionals in ocean energy development industry

The Nippon Foundation, together with the Nagasaki Marine Industry Cluster Promotion Association, Nagasaki Prefecture, Nagasaki University, and the Nagasaki Institute of Applied Science, have established the Nagasaki Ocean Academy as Asia’s first human resource training institute focusing on offshore wind power generation and other areas of ocean energy development. Classes began on October 1, 2020, and the academy aims to train 1,600 professionals over the next five years.

Growing demand for offshore wind power generation

As the world increasingly looks to introduce renewable energy, offshore wind power is receiving a great deal of attention for its large quantities of stable wind force and ease of securing facility locations compared with onshore wind power generation. Japan has also begun taking initial steps to promote the use of offshore wind power in various regions, and the Japan Wind Power Association has set a target of installing 10GW of offshore wind power capacity by 2030, representing an increase of roughly 150 times the figure for 2018. This is equivalent to the capacity of 10 nuclear power plants, and enough to supply roughly 600,000 ordinary households (calculated at 30% utilization and annual consumption of 4,400kWh per household).

Established to eliminate shortage of human resources

For Japan, the lack of sufficient human resources to promote this growth sector is a major issue. According to The Nippon Foundation’s calculations, the offshore wind power sector will require more than 8,600 persons by 2030, while as of February 2020 the number of offshore development technicians was only 2,865. The Nagasaki Ocean Academy was therefore established as a human resource training institute in areas related to offshore wind power generation and other areas of ocean energy development. In collaboration with The Nippon Foundation Ocean Innovation Project, the academy will use Japan’s first floating wind turbine, Haenkaze, to provide a program that incorporates virtual reality and other cutting-edge technologies to train ocean energy development professionals.

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Nagasaki Prefecture is home to ‘Haenkaze,’ Japan’s first floating wind turbine
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Classroom and work space at the Nagasaki Ocean Academy
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The program incorporates the latest technologies including virtual reality

Academy overview

  • Address: Second Floor, Research and Development Promotion Organization
    Bunkyo Campus, Nagasaki University
    1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan
  • Target students: Professionals (with plans to expand to undergraduates in the future)
  • Curriculum: Offshore wind power development (general theory, business development); Project certification, insurance, and finance; Foundation selection and offshore installation; Other areas related to offshore wind power development
  • Facilities: Classrooms, work spaces, communication spaces

Reference

Status of offshore wind power generation globally

As a renewable energy source, the use of offshore wind power generation has been growing rapidly around the world, with global capacity expected to reach 200GW by 2030, marking a roughly 10-fold increase from 2018. Europe in particular has been paving the way, with Denmark, one of the leading countries in this effort, using offshore wind power for 18% of its total power generation, and onshore and offshore wind power combined for 47%, in 2019.

The Nippon Foundation Ocean Innovation Project

With major growth forecast for ocean development, including offshore renewable energy as well as offshore oil and natural gas, the project seeks to train technicians who will drive this growth.
In recent years, The Nippon Foundation has been promoting innovation in technological development as well as human resource training in the field of ocean development. This technological development includes an on-site project in Scotland as well as grant programs for technological development in cooperation with organizations in the United States.

logo:The Nippon Foundation Ocean Innovation Project

Contact

Public Relations Team

The Nippon Foundation

  • Email: cc@ps.nippon-foundation.or.jp