Those Who Catch the Wind - The Challenge of Inter-Domain Corporation - June 1997

Those Who Catch the Wind - The Challenge of Inter-Domain Corporation - June 1997

Inter-Domain Corporation has established a unique position in the Japanese wind power market. In 1997, the company's annual sales exceeded one billion yen for the first time, and it has contributed to the sustainable supply of energy to the region, including the installation of a 20-kilowatt wind turbine as part of the Hachijojima Clean Island Initiative. The company is contributing to the sustainable supply of energy to the region.

The company's president, Shinsuke Sugimoto, originally worked for a trading company before establishing his own company, Inter-Domain Corporation, in 1989. Although his original intention was to work in marine development, he soon became involved in the importation of yachts and other business ventures. In the process, he came to know about wind power generators in 1992 and received a proposal from an overseas business partner to deal in large wind power generators, which were selling well in Europe, in Japan. However, there was no market for large wind power generators, which cost tens or hundreds of millions of yen, in Japan at that time, and the lack of demand for such generators led him to focus on small wind power generators.

Today, Inter-Domain Corporation specializes in independent wind power generators, offering a wide range of products from small wind power generators priced at 12.3 million yen for home use to full-scale systems priced at several tens of millions of yen. There are two types of wind power generators: independent power generators that generate their own power for self-consumption and those that sell the power they produce to electric power companies. The company's main customers are municipalities and local governments, and it is responsible for more than half of all independent power generation systems in Japan. Examples include auxiliary power for electric vehicles at the "Windmill Village" in Yamagata Prefecture, multipurpose power supply for the "Wind Museum" in Ehime Prefecture, fountain power supply for a theme park in Aichi Prefecture, and indoor lighting for a water gatehouse in Hokkaido.

The unique feature of this business is that it is not limited to the mere sale of products, but also provides comprehensive coordination from the stage of receiving a request for installation to the selection, importation, and installation of the most suitable equipment after conducting a wind condition survey. In June 1997, the company installed four 5-kilowatt wind turbines on Hachijojima Island, playing a role in the Clean Island concept.

Inter-Domain Corporation has achieved steady growth in the small-scale power market, which is difficult for large electric power companies to penetrate, and is making a significant contribution to the spread of renewable energy rooted in local communities. The challenge of this company to grasp the wind and open up the future will continue in the future.