Structural design, Wind power facilities
Structural design, Wind power facilities

Connects domestic and
international companies and professionals
to contribute to increasing wind power.

Structural design,
Wind power facilities
Mateo Alay Albert
Joined KKE in 2010.
Graduated from School of Engineering,
Tohoku University Department of Architecture and Building Science
As a domestic leader in the field of wind power

As a domestic leader in the field of wind power

As one of the renewable energies, wind power generation has been expanded in its installation scale mainly in Europe. This field is now in the spotlight not just for its energy creation but as a new industry. It creates jobs for half-million people around the world, out of which 5,000 representing 1% are employed in Japan. Although Japan is behind in its efforts, the environment has been improved steadily to increase wind power generation, such as that inspection of construction plan for wind power facilities was made compulsory to comply with the Electricity Business Act due to the revision of ”ministerial ordinance to specify technical standards for wind power facilities for electricity generation” in 2014. In this context, KKE, as the only architect office, undertakes design work for wind power facilities’ support structures (towers and bases) and handling of inspection by Industrial Safety and Inspection Department. Today, wind power facilities are being installed at various locations in Japan, and most of the windmills used there are made by overseas makers. Partly due to such circumstances, KKE, which has knowledge on Japanese construction rules and particular natural phenomena including earthquakes and typhoons, is raising high expectations in its evaluation for the sake of windmill’s safe construction.

Leading cross-border projects to success

Leading cross-border projects to success

I am in charge of tower design and base design of windmills for wind power generation. In some projects, I get involved not as a designer but as a PL (project leader). When I am in charge of designing, I do the calculation for analyses of wind and windmill towers by myself. When I work as a PL, my main job is to be the contact person for clients and check project management and quality. The moment I find my job rewarding the most is when I explain Japanese rules, the way of doing and design policies to our clients overseas and have a discussion. In the windmill industry, where there are multinational players, 30% of the practical business is conducted in foreign languages. In such an environment, I gain great pleasure if I am able to carry out a project successfully using my comprehensive knowledge and communication ability in English, Japanese, Spanish and Catalan. When I hear them say like “We couldn’t have done it without you” or “We want someone like you,” I really feel that I could utilize my abilities, and this experience makes me more motivated and energized for the next work.

SCHEDULE

My ordinary day

  • 9:00 a.m.

    Arrive at work, check e-mails

  • 10:00 a.m.

    Confirm the current status of each project, and do some work

  • 12:00 noon

    Lunch

  • 1:00 p.m.

    Design work, internal & external meetings, check materials

  • 7:30 p.m.

    Leave office (leave at 5:00 p.m. when I pick up my child)

A climate where we can pursue our interests

At KKE, members with foreign citizenship are not unique. Although there were only graduates of universities in Japan when I joined, the number of graduates of overseas universities, mainly in ASEAN, has increased in the past several years. In fact, we have an Indonesian in our team. It may be a little difficult for those who have little experience living in Japan to be accustomed to Japanese society. However, KKE is trying to support such members with foreign nationality to get used to their life in Japan as soon as possible by assisting their learning of Japanese and providing information in English. The company climate is well suited for “people full of curiosity” and “people who want to try something of their interest.” For myself, the next challenge is to understand off- shore wind turbine and the international standards for its design method. Construction of windmills on the ocean is unknown territory to me because they are subject to phenomena that are totally different from on land. However, I am anxious to create new values, named offshore wind turbine, by asking for analytical advice and insight from engineers working in 30 departments of KKE, or by obtaining knowledge from technology institutes of other companies and overseas consultants.