IoT-based virtual power plant project unites 14 Japanese cos

A government-funded experiment in Japan, which would help facilitate the integration of renewables into the power grid through the Internet of Things (IoT), was launched by 14 major players on the domestic power segment.

The Virtual Power Plant Experimental Project will focus on creating new energy management systems and on the installation of new devices to ensure more efficient energy use. Mitsubishi Corp (TYO:8058) said on Thursday that this will be done by connecting end-use devices spread across power grids through the IoT in a sort of “virtual” power plant by means of which demand and supply could be adjusted more effectively for the available capacity.

The Japanese enterprises that are part of the scheme include Kansai Electric Power Co Inc (TYO:9503), Fuji Electric Co Ltd (TYO:6504), Sansha Electric Manufacturing Co Ltd (TYO:6882), Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd (TYO:5802), Obayashi Corp (TYO:1802), Kansai Electrical Safety Inspection Association, DAIHEN Corp (TYO:6622), and others.

The initiative is subsidised by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, an arm of Japan’s Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI). In line with the government’s plan to rebalance Japan’s energy mix, the subsidy was issued on July 21, 2016 by the project’s executing agency -- Institute of Applied Energy.

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