Kyushu Electric Power has started testing at an experimental smart grid facility operated jointly with Satsumasendai City, Kagoshima, where one of its nuclear power plants is located. Technical tests will run until March 2015 in an effort to identify issues with next generation power supply systems based on the assumption that renewable energy will be more widespread in the future. The facility, which was built on the site of an old junior high school, consists of a 278 kW solar power generator and a mass storage battery with an output of 118 kW and a capacity of 130 kW. Kyuden will run tests on using the storage battery to adjust supply and demand, and it will also conduct research on how to ensure steady power transmission through the grid by easing voltage fluctuations, given the unstable nature of renewable energy output. Kyuden also opened a similar experimental station in Genkai Town, Saga Prefecture, which is home to the company’s other nuclear power plant. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun 10/31
