BATTERY STORAGE FOR RENEWABLES WILL AID JAPAN’S NATIONAL GRID

Opening up Japan’s power grids to energy storage systems operated by other companies will be key to broader adoption of renewable energy, says Japan’s government.

The government has already taken steps to subsidize up to half the cost of battery storage systems, drawing from a 13 billion yen (US$114 million) in funding, to make them competitive with other types of energy storage.

Large-scale battery storage is essential for stabilizing the fluctuating supply of electricity from such renewable sources as solar and wind, and more independent players are expected to enter the field as demand rises. Japan already requires grid operators to allow other companies to connect power generation equipment to their transmission networks. The lack of a similar provision for batteries had raised concern among companies considering forays into the business that utilities would block their plans.

Japan wants to lower the cost of installing grid batteries to 23,000 yen ($200) per kilowatt-hour -- on a par with pumped hydroelectric storage, which involves moving water between reservoirs at different elevations to store and release energy.

Tesla Japan already cut the price of its storage systems to around $440 per kilowatt-hour, including construction expenses. Covering half of this through subsidies would bring the final cost close to Japan’s target.

Japanese renewable energy developer Shizen International has formed a joint venture (JV) to develop offshore windfarms and other green energy projects in South Korea. Shizen International, part of Shizen Energy Group, formed the JV with Inmark Asset Management and Dohwa Engineering Co Ltd.

The JV will be called Inmark Jayeon Energy Co Ltd. Jayeon means ‘natural’ in Korean. The new JV will focus on renewable energy projects including energy storage, onshore renewables and offshore wind. Shizen is already developing offshore wind projects in Japan, including around Kyushu island.

The joint venture has identified 2.0 GW of renewable energy generation project opportunities and plans to make its first investment in a project of approximately 100 MW by the end of this year.

Kyushu Offshore Wind Farm is a key 1,000MW offshore wind power project. It is planned in Sea of Japan (East Sea), Japan. According to GlobalData, who tracks and profiles over 170,000 power plants worldwide, the project is currently at the announced stage. It will be developed in a single phase.

Tests are underway or scheduled at sites in Fukuoka and Nagasaki, and estimates place the potential for wind power generation in Kyushu, where offshore winds are favorable, at 17 times the current output of Kyushu Electric Power. The Ministry of the Environment will begin one test off the coast of the Goto Islands in Nagasaki, where it has installed 22-metre floating wind turbine that can produce up to 100 kW of power. Kyushu University is conducting another trial in Hakata Bay. It plans to expand a floating platform it equipped with solar panels and its originally-developed wind-lens turbines in late 2011 in an effort to develop a floating energy farm. Given the depth of Japan’s surrounding waters, the development of offshore wind power technologies could be the key to dramatically expanding the use of renewable energy in Japan.