Microgrid Business Starts at Toyooka Industrial Park

-First in the Kansai Area: Following the regional Microgrid Startup Test in Toyooka City-

KANEKA CORPORATION
June 12, 2024
 Kaneka Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Kazuhiko Fujii; hereinafter "Kaneka") announced that Kaneka Solar Marketing Corporation (Headquarters: Osaka-City, Osaka; President: Atsushi Takahashi), a group company of Kaneka, and ITOCHU Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Keita Ishii; hereinafter "ITOCHU") have established Toyooka Regional Energy Service LLC (Headquarters: Toyooka City, Hyogo; President: Yoshiyuki Nasuno) and have launched a microgrid*1 business at Toyooka Industrial Park in April.

 Prior to this, in February 2024, Toyooka City collaborated with Toyooka City, Kansai Transmission and Distribution, Inc., Kansai Electric Power Co., and Japan Power Fastening Co., Ltd. (high-voltage consumer participant in the test) to conduct the first regional microgrid startup test*2 in the Kansai area for disasters involving temporary disconnection from the power grid, and demonstrated that it is possible to self-supply electric power in times of disaster. With the start of the microgrid business, in addition to the solar power generation and power storage businesses that have already been launched to provide local decarbonization services during normal times, it is now possible to provide electric power support services for lifelines, street lighting infrastructure, and cell phone base stations at each plant in the event of a disaster.

 Through demonstration of this highly advanced project, we will deepen our technology and further expand its application by promoting collaboration with local governments and companies that are working on decarbonization, and contribute to local communities with total energy solutions using our environmentally friendly products such as solar cells and heat insulating materials.

*1. A system that enables local production for local consumption of energy within a limited local community by generating electricity with private power generation facility and controlling the amount of electricity with storage batteries, etc., and utilizing the existing power distribution network. We are promoting a complex electric power service business that combines the regional micro-grid business with solar power generation and storage facility business, utilizing the "FY2022 Grants for Promotion of Community Coexistence Renewable Energy Promotion Project" from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

*2. Of the regional microgrids covering the entire Toyooka Industrial Park, we formed a small-scale microgrid (solar power generation facilities: approx. 1,000 kW, power storage facilities: 1,999 kW-6,000 kWh, including 2 high-voltage customers) with only 3 demand points cut out, and conducted a startup test from a power outage state that simulates a disaster. As a result, it was verified that stable power supply to the microgrid was possible without significant voltage drops or harmonic distortion. This is one of the largest scale*3 regional microgrid startup tests in Japan involving temporary disconnection from the power grid.

*3. As of February 2024, according to Kaneka.

＜Scheme diagram＞
Toyooka Regional Energy Service LLC will play a central role in the project, in collaboration with Toyooka City, Kaneka, ITOCHU, Kansai Transmission and Distribution, Inc., Kansai Electric Power Co., iGrid Solutions, E-Flow LLC, and sponsors of Toyooka Industrial Park.


<Small-scale microgrid overview>

             

Solar power generation facilities: Approx.1,000 kW　 　                          Storage power plants: 1,999 kW-6,000 kWh
High-voltage consumer: Japan Power Fastening Co., Ltd.