The smart grid that Okinawa Electric Power has begun operating on the island of Miyako-jima holds tremendous value for Japanese companies because it can verify technologies they can apply to develop businesses overseas.
The government is trying to nurture smart-grid technologies as a new export industry. In fact, the pilot smart grid on Miyako-jima is a steppingstone to verification projects in the West, in which the Japanese government will help domestic companies participate.
The load-leveling control system for Miyako-jima's grid was developed by Toshiba Corp. while the sodium-sulfer storage battery complex was developed by NGK Insulators Ltd. and the panels for the solar power system were developed by Sharp Corp. Kyocera Corp. and Kaneka Corp.
Because nations have different standards and specifications for their power infrastructures, Japanese companies have focused their smart-grid efforts on the domestic market. But this has raised concerns that the firms may miss opportunities in what is expected to be the rapid installation of next-generation power infrastructure in Europe, which is introducing wind power and other renewable energy sources, and in the U.S. and newly emerging economies, where demand for electricity continues to expand.
The Miyako-jima project is a way for Japanese companies to test their smart-grid technologies domestically. But the Japanese government is also supporting their efforts to expand the business abroad.
For example, it will support the construction of a test facility in the U.S. state of New Mexico, where 19 Japanese firms will participate starting in fiscal 2011. And it will back the participation of Japanese firms in verification experiments to be conducted in Spain and France.
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