The Smart Grid means different things to many people, but the Mitsubishi company is aiming to revolutionize the delivery of energy within Japan by 2016. In this case, the company not only wants to build, install and operate intelligent systems, but it wants to take the leap further, and build systems that meet the challenges of disaster situations.
“Mitsubishi aims to provide a system that enables consumers to visualize and control electricity consumption for optimized energy use. The project also focuses on the development of energy infrastructure that offers continuity in emergency situations, such as Japan saw after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011,” reported Appliance Magazine. And there are other players interested doing something similar – with impact.
The ability to withstand disaster, and not fall apart at the first instance of danger, is sometimes referred to as grid resilience. Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) is at the forefront of meeting these challenges as well.
Mitsubishi has been developing smart grid related systems worth ¥7 billion since May 2010. There is little doubt that these systems will find their way into reality. Let’s hope they help to mitigate the next disasters the country might experience to protect and help citizens.
