Japan eyes using more virtual power plants

Fluctuations of renewable power are addressed better.

When Japan started testing its virtual power plants for renewable power in July 2016, experts knew that the industry is in for a breakthrough. One of the big issues in utilising solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources is that it is highly affected by weather, resulting in a low production, which may consequently result to supply shortage. However, if power supply balloons and outstrips power output, the grid may be stressed, leading to a possible outage.

Masayuki Kosakada, technology executive at Toshiba, said in a conference at The World Smart Energy Week 2017 that imbalances between fluctuations of renewable power and demands are addressed regionally by a virtual storage battery. "VPPs contribute to stable power supply, improves demand-supply adjustment capability, utilises distributed energy resources, and reduces energy expenses," he added.

The World Smart Energy Week 2017 is currently being held in Tokyo, Japan from March 1-3, 2017.