Japan’s Largest Energy Storage System Supplied By Toshiba
A 40MW–40MWh large-scale battery storage system will be supplied by
Toshiba to Tohoku Electric Power Company for the Minami-Soma Substation
Project, the companies recently announced. Minami Soma is a small city
with slightly over 60,000 residents and is about 16 miles north
of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The energy storage system
will use a collection of SCiB lithium-ion batteries. Project
construction has already begun and operations will begin in February
2016.
The battery technology selected for the large-scale energy storage system works well in very cold temperatures and has been very reliable. “Toshiba’s
rechargeable battery (SCiB™) products are a safe, high-performance,
long-life, rechargeable battery solution for a wide array of
applications ranging from electric vehicles to grid energy storage. SCiB
batteries can be charged in as little as 10 minutes and have excellent
thermal performance, reducing or eliminating the need for battery
cooling. The LTO chemistry contained in SCiB is not susceptible to
thermal runaway or lithium metal plating, providing exceptional battery
safety characteristics.” The large-scale energy storage system is
intended to balance renewable energy supply and demand.
Tohoku Electric Power Company is a utility in the northeastern
portion of Honshu, the largest Japanese island. Additionally,
it provides electricity to Nigata Prefecture which is also located on
Honshu. Over 7 million people get their electricity from the utility.
Fukushima is located in the Tohoku region, so it is only natural that
renewable energy and energy storage would emerge in an area so severely
impacted by radiation leaks. The Japanese government wrote in 2013
that such a transition would take place. “The government estimates that
the market size of renewable energy in Japan will greatly expand by
2020. The market size of solar power generation devices is expected to
grow up to 1,287,600 million yen, which is 8 times larger than the 2008
figure. The market size of wind power generation plants is expected to
grow up to 249,000 million yen, which is 4 times larger than the
2008 figure, and the growth expectation of lithium-ion batteries is up
to 600,600 million yen, which is 14 times larger than the 2008 figure.
With regards to charging stations and geothermal power generation
plants, their market sizes were small in 2008 but they are predicted
to grow up to 148,000 million yen and 78,400 million yen, respectively,
by 2020. New energy business is expected to grow up to 2,431,100 million
yen, which is 32 times larger than in 2008.”
A 40MW–40MWh energy storage system is huge compared with others that
have been installed, which typically are several megawatt-hours in
capacity.
Courtesy: Cleantechnica
