Tokyo Electric Power Corp., one of Japan's national utility service providers and grid operators, will launch home solar power and battery storage systems for its customers as part of its promotion of the renewable energy retail business.
TEPCO has launched the 'TRENDE' program, which is a battery storage retail business where users can switch to this service using smartphones or other online devices. The power company stated that the main reason for the development of this plan includes allowing users to understand The vast majority of electricity comes from solar photovoltaic power generation, although the company did not mention the expected balance of its power generation portfolio.
Another major reason for starting the 'TRENDE' program is that users can apply for flat rates for their electricity, save money, and protect them from the rising interest rates associated with fossil fuel or nuclear energy-related energy prices. Although for home users However, there are plans to provide energy for larger users, such as commercial and industrial (C&I) companies, and these plans are called 'high level' versions.
Since 2016, Japanese consumers have been free to choose suppliers in newly opened markets. After contracting with suppliers, they have acquired power generation services, including auto fuel retailers and mobile phone companies, which have proposed to supply electricity and their contract services. Or new plans for products bundled together.
"Before deregulation, only 10 power companies were operating as regional monopolies, and now there are more than 400 new companies offering services from gas companies to telecom companies," said Silvestros Vlachopoulos, analyst at Delta EE.
Vlachopoulos said that Japan’s power capacity and real-time energy trading market are expected to be operational by 2020, increasing the value of electricity demand response and flexibility services, where energy storage can play a role, and the Japanese government’s goal is to increase renewable energy in energy. The proportion in the structure is increased from the current 15% to 24% in 2030.
Create a distributed platform
TEPCO has recently invested in Moixa in the UK, which not only produces batteries of the same size as houses, but also provides a polymerization platform, GridShare, which allows Moyksa to sell its services to the grid. Remuneration, while paying for the use of the home or business battery system that hosts the electricity. Tokyo Electric Power also conducts trials of energy storage systems manufactured by US commercial providers Stem and Sunverge in its service area, both companies It is famous for the 'virtual power plant' business model. The trading group Mitsui and the Japanese Ministry of Economy and Industry (METI) are conducting the trial. TEPCO has also recently invested in RES's US grid scale energy storage project.
TEPCO's 'TRENDE' program, which includes the creation of a 'Distributed Energy Platform' for its families by providing solar photovoltaic cell energy storage devices to its customers. TEPCO did not disclose plans for more solar photovoltaic and household batteries In detail, the Japanese government also has a subsidy program, which subsidizes about one-third of the cost of a household battery energy storage system, and is working to achieve zero energy consumption standards for housing.
In 2014, two entrepreneurs, Jeffrey Char and Tadatoshi Senoo, were hired to launch the TRENDE program. Their achievements included the creation of the blockchain startup company Orb.
Tadatoshi Senoo said: 'We have introduced an easy-to-use, engaging, information-rich platform that will help consumers make smart energy choices and save money while also promoting the use of solar energy. We are very excited to work with TEPCO to make Residential solar energy becomes a reality.
Tomoaki Kobayakawa, chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co., Ltd. announced the news after attending the Japan Electric Power Corporation (FEPC) meeting. He described the outlook for the future development of Tokyo Electric Power Co., Ltd. Mr. Kobayashi highly valued the potential of renewable energy. To create a cost-effective sustainable energy network, and also reiterated that Tepco is still committed to eliminating the long-term impact of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant failure. In order to fulfill these obligations and restore Tokyo Electric Power Company’s profitability, the company plans to increase each year The income of 500 billion yen (46.55 billion U.S. dollars).
Kobayakawa said: "Our main task is to ensure that we provide customers with a stable and low-cost electricity supply. In this mission, thermal power, renewable energy, and hydropower will all be involved," said Kobayakawa.
After the Fukushima nuclear leak disaster that occurred after the tsunami in 2011, Japan shut down its nuclear power generation unit. This was partly due to the implementation of the solar energy feed-in tariff policy in 2012. The main beneficiaries of the solar feed-in tariff policy so far are utility-scale solar power. .