U.S., Japanese companies begin smart grid project in Hawaii
Technology ( 8 )
TOKYO —
Hitachi Ltd, Cyber Defense Institute Inc and Mizuho Corporate Bank have been selected as contractors for a world-leading smart grid demonstration project on Maui Island in Hawaii, spearheaded by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) as the result of feasibility study which was conducted from May to September this year by Hitachi and other companies.
Serving as the project leader, Hitachi will take a leading role and coordinate the entire project.
The project, a joint undertaking by the U.S. and Japan, is based on the Japan-U.S. Clean Energy Technologies Action Plan, which was agreed to following the Japan-U.S. Heads of State Summit held in November 2009. These contractors will cooperate with the State of Hawaii, Hawaiian Electric Company Inc, the University of Hawaii, and the U.S. National Laboratories in the project. The project is expected to be completed by the end of March 2014.
The objectives are to establish a system model for the integration of clean energy and to verify cutting-edge technologies in a smart grid system on Maui where a high percentage of renewable energy is already in place. The system being tested mitigates the impact of variable renewable energy generation and uses renewable energy efficiently. Other objectives of the project include contributing to standardization of a low-carbon social infrastructure system deployment to other islands and semitropical regions all over the world.
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8 Comments
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0
papigiulio
Good stuff, hope they dont ruin the island tho :S
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Elbuda Mexicano
They should worry more about Japan, especially the mess up in Fukushima with stupid Tepco than about Hawaii.
2
ebisen
papi - do you know what smartgrid means? It usually improves, not ruins an island.
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papigiulio
ebisen, no idea what a smartgrid is im not tech savvy, but it sounds like they will build stuff, that usually means they have to destroy nature. Thats why my comment
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Brad Moreiko
Cyber Defense Institute sounds like a company from The Terminator series.
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Hawaii_Kane
Maybe they chose Maui because it has a supercomputer there. I suspect they will build it in already built up Lahaina. Cyber Defense Institute seems to be involved to keep cyber attcks from hacking the grid. http://cyberdefenseinstitute.net/
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John Becker
@Hawaii_Kane: does this sort of thing really require a supercomputer? Entire large factories can be run by a couple of PCs...
While this sort of thing may lead to more efficiency in the distribution of power, it looks to me like an engraved invitation to hackers. Do we really want to revamp the power grid and make it easier for China to disrupt it?
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Hawaii_Kane
John Becker - I'm not a smart grid expert so I don't know. The power grid is already controlled by software so upgrading it to be safer would be a good idea I think.
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