The Asia Super Grid – Four Countries Join Together to Maximize Renewable Energy

Published at RenewableEnergyWorld.com --- The triple-disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown that hit the northeast of Japan in March 2011 was a wake-up call for many people. This was true for Masayoshi Son, a founder, chairman, and chief executive officer (CEO) of Softbank Group, a Japanese multinational telecommunications and internet corporation. Having experienced the danger of nuclear power plants in Fukushima, he felt the need to replace nuclear power with safer and cleaner renewable energy for a better future.

To accelerate the deployment of clean, safe, and affordable renewable energy, he founded the Renewable Energy Institute (REI), and in September 2011, the “Asia Super Grid (ASG)” was conceptualized. ASG goes beyond Japan and includes other Asia countries to further maximize the usage of renewable energy by taking advantage of diversity in loads and resources.

At an International Symposium this September to celebrate REI’s five-year Anniversary, Son happily announced that his “Vision of the ASG” was one step closer to materialization.

“When I announced my idea five years ago, many people said it is a crazy idea, and they also said that it is neither economically or politically feasible,” recalled Son. Despite these nay-sayers, he has been making steady progress.

The first step was to develop electricity generation plants domestically by creating SB Energy Corp. as part of the SoftBank Group in 2011. The company is now established and operating 33 utility-scaled renewable power plants nationwide, including a 48-MW wind farm in Shimane prefecture and a 111-MW solar PV farm in Hokkaido prefecture.

The company also looked outside Japan for more abundant renewable energy sources. Mongolia has vast wind resources, and to harness the potential, the company formed Clean Energy Asia LLC with Newcom LLC, a Mongolian conglomerate. The joint company has secured a land-leasing right in the Gobi Desert for the next 100 years to develop and operate 7 GW worth of wind farms. The company also formed a joint venture company called SBG Cleantech Ltd in India, with India’s Bharti Enterprises Pvt. and Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, to develop a 350 MW solar PV farm in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

MOU Signed by Japan, China, South Korea, and Russia

Plenty of renewable energy generation has been secured and is under development. Now the question is how to move the renewable energy to Japan and throughout Asia....Read More Here

Representatives from Japan, South Korea, China, and Russia sign MOU in Beijing.
Image credit: SoftBank Group

Japan at the Electricity Crossroads: Nuclear Power to Lower Electricity Bills or Solar Power to Create Resiliency?

Published at Renewable Energy World --- March 11, 2016 marks the five-year anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which caused catastrophic meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex in Fukushima Prefecture. This devastating event resulted in a major change to the nation’s electricity supply market. It led to the introduction of the national feed-in tariff (FIT) program in July 2012 and historical liberalization of the retail electricity market, which will commence in April.

PV plus Storage Installed at a School, Credit: Minamisyna City

In regards to the upcoming deregulated electricity market, 210 companies have currently registered as retail electricity providers to compete against the 10 incumbent utilities, which had enjoyed the regional monopolies for several decades.

As fierce competition is anticipated, the incumbent utilities have restarted or plan to restart nuclear reactors to be cost-competitive. In fact, last year Kyushu Power Electric Company, located in the Kyushu region, restarted two nuclear reactors in Kagoshima Prefecture and, last month, Kansai Electric Power Corporation, the nation’s second largest electric provider, has restarted two reactors at Takahama Nuclear Plant in Fukui Prefecture to provide “lower rates” than those offered by new competitors.

Turning Nuclear Contaminated Town into Denuclearized Town with Renewable Energy

“I am very furious,” commented Katsunobu Sakurai, the mayor of Minamisoma City, at a press conference for the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. He is angry and frustrated that the utilities have restarted nuclear reactors since Minamisoma City, located less than 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, has not yet fully recovered. The city was heavily affected by the disasters which displaced 14,000 residents after the accident. It has been five years since the nuclear meltdown, however, residents of certain areas of the city have not been allowed to return since the national government has not yet lifted evacuation orders....Read More Here

Japan’s Local Energy Providers Turn to Distributed Generation

Published at Renewable Energy World --- Let the games begin! By fully deregulating its electricity sector by next April, Japan plans to break up the 60-years of regional monopolies controlled by 10 vertically-integrated, investor-owned utilities (IOUs). Just at the end of October, 778 companies registered as power producers and suppliers (PPS) in order to sell electricity for commercial consumers who have a demand over 50 kW. In addition, 48 companies have registered and been approved as retail electricity providers to sell electricity to residential and small business customers.

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster of March 2011 marked a pivotal turning point in the conception of the nation’s electricity infrastructure. Specifically, safety and reliable supply. Due to the temporary shut-down of the country’s nuclear power reactors, some areas of Japan experienced rolling blackouts as well as large electricity rate hikes due to the resulting supply constraint.

The deregulation in process is expected to stimulate competition as well as lower the cost of electricity. According to a national survey taken by Mizuho Information & Research Institute, Inc., 83 percent of respondents said that they would switch providers if prices decrease.

Regarding energy mixes, 36 percent of respondents said that they would switch to renewable electricity providers as long as prices remain similar to what they are now, while and 5 percent said that they would use renewable energy only if prices decreased. Separately, 32 percent of respondents said that they do not want to use electricity generated by nuclear power plants.

Solar PV Installed on a Distribution Warehouse, Credit: Seikatsu Club Energy

Return of Nuclear Power for Deregulation?

Although the nation is still working to clean up after the 2011 Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power incident, the Federal of Electric Power Companies of Japan (FEPC) claims that nuclear power is important for the nation’s energy independency and energy affordability. In fact, the incumbent utilities have gradually restarted some of the nuclear power plants, which were taken offline after the Fukushima disaster....Read More Here

Born from Disaster: Japan Establishes First Microgrid Community

Published at Renewable Energy World --- Following the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, one city decided to transition to a clean, renewable future and became Japan's first microgrid community.

Although Japan's Fukushima prefecture is most commonly associated with the 2011 disaster due to the nuclear power melt-down, Miyazaki prefecture, located north of Fukushima, suffered the largest death toll, close to 10,000, and the largest flood damage in the nation.

Located on the coast, Higashimatsushima city was no exception. It had a catastrophic tsunami-caused flood, which put 65 percent of the city under water, with over 1,100 lives lost. Approximately 10,000 residents lost their homes and were forced to evacuate.

“After the disaster, some parts of the town didn’t get electricity for up to three months,” said Tohoru Ishigaki at the office of Future City Initiative under the city’s Department of Disaster Recovery Policy. “We strongly felt [after the disaster] that our responsibility was to provide reliable energy.”
Turn Local Tragedy Into a New and Vibrant Vision

To create a safe, resilient and sustainable society for the remaining population of 40,000, the city decided to deploy distributed, clean renewable energy sources. Under post-disaster recovery and reconstruction plans, the city set a bold goal to become a Net Zero Energy City by 2022, supplying the entire city with locally produced energy.

As a first step, the city turned a flood-affected former city park into a 2-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project. This project symbolizes the city’s commitment to energy self-sufficiency. Mitsui & Co., Ltd, one of the largest trading company in Japan, completed this system in the summer 2013. The company also built PV carport systems with a total capacity of 270 kW at three locations on high ground, away from the vulnerable coastline. These sites are designated for evacuations and solar power will provide emergency power....Read More Here

Fukushima, Japan Accelerating Deployment of Solar to Create Self-Reliant Communities

Published at Renewable Energy World --- This March will mark the four-year anniversary of when the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl hit the northeast of Japan. Communities severely affected by the triple-disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown have made a strong commitment to become energy self-reliant by producing safe, clean energy locally for local consumption.

The entire village of litate, located at 39 kilometers northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, was forced to evacuate in order to avoid radiation exposure. To build a self-reliant community, a few of the villagers from litate got together to establish the litate Electric Power Company.

litate is building a 50-kW solar system, and upon completion of the system in February, it will sell the power output to local utility Tohoku Electric Power Co. under the nation’s feed-in tariff (FIT) program. The proceeds from energy sales will be re-invested into the community to build more renewable energy systems.Read More Here

Iitate Village in Fukushima, Japan