Experimental Microgrid System on Outlying Islands Tested by Kyushu Electric Power

Copyright Kyushu Electric Power Co.

Japan's Kyushu Electric Power Co. announced on April 20, 2010, that it has established a microgrid system on the outlying islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan, and has begun a three-year experiment (ending in March 2013) to verify the performance of photovoltaic (PV) generation, including output power control.

The targeted area encompasses six islands in Kagoshima County, Kagoshima Prefecture: Kuroshima and Takeshima in Mishima Village; and Nakanoshima, Suwanosejima, Kodakarajima, and Takarajima in Toshima Village. On all of the islands, Kyushu Electric Power is conducting an experiment to smooth out output PV power fluctuations due to weather changes by using storage batteries. The company is also operating another test in Kuroshima to charge batteries with the surplus output PV power in the daytime and discharge the batteries at night.

Without any grid connection to mainland Japan, the company supplies electricity to the outlying islands, primarily from internal combustion generation plants individually built on each island (diesel electric generation). However, from the viewpoint of energy security and global environmental conservation, the company has established the microgrid system using renewable energy, and will conduct this experiment to assess electric system operation, identify problems, and to evaluate the economic efficiency.

METI Announces International Standardization Roadmap for Smart Grid (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/029850.html

Kyushu Electric Power Co. official website
http://www1.kyuden.co.jp/en_index.html

Posted: 2010/07/29 06:00:15 AM