TOKYO — Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. says it has completed a megawatt-class electric power
generation/storage system on the premises of its Yokohama Works. The system
consists of the world''s largest redox flow battery and Japan''s largest
concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) units.
For
the development of this system, the Company has cooperated with Nissin Electric
Co. Ltd., Sumitomo Densetsu Co., Ltd., and Meidensha Corp. in the respective
technical fields.
The
system consists of 28 units of CPV (maximum total power generation: 200 kW) and
a redox flow battery (capacity: 1 MW x 5 hours), which respectively function as
renewable energy sources and a storage facility of electric power generated by
the CPV units. Connected to external commercial power networks, the system can
also store electricity provided by power companies during the night. This
system employs an energy management system (EMS), which monitors the amount of
CPV-generated electric power, battery storage and power consumption, and stores
the measurement data in the central server.
The
system levels power consumption, enables a stable power supply, and balances
fluctuations in solar power generation.
Sumitomo
Electric says it also plans to start the demonstration test of a factory energy
management system (FEMS), which combines the existing gas engine power
generators with the redox flow battery and CPV units to form an optimal
management system that controls the entire energy flow in the Yokohama Works.
The Company will cooperate with Meidensha Corp. for the demonstration, which
will be the first attempt in the Yokohama Smart City Project, one of the Next
Generation Energy and Social System Demonstration Projects 2012 led by the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
Sumitomo
Electric is planning to put these systems into practical use, particularly for
major power consumers such as industrial plants and commercial facilities, with
the aim of promoting the use of renewable energy sources and effective use of
energy. With a plan for the commercialization during the 2013 and 2014, the
Company continues to work on cost reduction and other improvements for the
system.