A group of US and Japanese companies are collaborating on a landmark smart grid project on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), Cyber Defense Institute, Inc., JFE Engineering Corporation, Sharp Corporation (6753.T), Hewlett-Packard Japan, Ltd., and Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. have been selected as contractors for the demonstration project.
On the island of Maui, 15% of the electricity supply is already generated by renewable energy, and there are plans to increase the percentage. The goals of the project are to verify cutting-edge technologies in a smart grid, contribute to smart grid standards, and implement a low-carbon social infrastructure system that efficiently uses renewable energy on a remote island where electricity costs are relatively high.
The six participating companies will build and test a system that includes: power distribution control, demand side load control, control-ICT platform, electric vehicles (EVs) operation and charging control, multiple type of rapid chargers, and information and telecommunications technologies.
Part of the demonstration plan calls for using EVs as a stability function for the grid–absorbing fluctuations in power frequency when large volumes of renewable energy are added to the grid due to weather variability.
The project will be spearheaded by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
Together, the companies will conduct a feasibility study expected to be completed by the middle of September 2011. Based on the results of the study, the project is expected to be implemented by the end of March 2015.
The Project is supported by NEDO, in cooperation with the State of Hawaii, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., the University of Hawaii, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
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