The Kyocera Corporation announced last week their participation in a state-of-the-art, international smart-grid demonstration project which aims to assist with the wider implementation of renewable energy and the promotion of energy conservation through the use of smart-grid-related technologies.
In conjunction with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan, amidst a number of other companies, research institutes, and local governments, Kyocera will be involved in the project which will see data collection take place at the project sites, and analysis through to March 2014.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on September 17 for the project in Los Alamos, New Mexico, at one of three sites in Los Alamos and Albuquerque that make up the project.
Kyocera is involved in two of the three sites, the Smart-Grid Demonstration and the Smart House Demonstration in Los Alamos.
On top of that, Kyocera has been commissioned to lead the Evaluation of Distributed Energy Resources (photovoltaics, etc.) within the Collective Research portion of the overall project.
The Smart-Grid Demonstration in Los Alamos involves a power supply micro-grid which uses power distribution lines from a large-scale solar power plant to utilize related technologies and performance, and to minimize the effects of power output fluctuations.
Kyocera supplied a 910kW multicrystalline silicon solar module array that is part of the 1MW solar generating system. The remaining 90kW is comprised of 9 other 10kW systems, in order to compare the performance of different types of solar modules.
Kyocera was also involved in the installation of the site, given that it is built over a reclaimed waste disposal landfill and Kyocera has expertise “in selecting and installing base mounting optimized for dynamic soil conditions.”
The Smart House Demonstration in Los Alamos gave Kyocera the opportunity to construct a hybrid energy management system which is using a 3.4kW residential solar power generating system, a 24kWh lithium-ion storage battery, and a heat storage unit.
The Smart House Demonstration will utilise a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) equipped with communication equipment and sensors in an effort to optimize energy usage from the solar power generating system, storage battery, power grid, and smart appliances installed in the home.
“In this project, we will demonstrate how a smart house can play an important role from the demand side in a smart grid, where renewable energy such as solar power will be significantly implemented in the future,” stated Kyocera Corporation Vice President and General Manager of the company’s Solar Energy Group, Tatsumi Maeda, during a speech at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“This smart house project was established to demonstrate the next generation of energy management by using the newest technologies.”
Source: Kyocera
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