[Japan] Tohoku Electric Power Will Establish Tohoku Frontier to Strengthen the Monetization Strategies for Its Smart Society Businesses

Tohoku Electric Power (Tohoku, Headquarters: Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture) announced on February 25, 2021 that it has decided to establish a new subsidiary, Tohoku Electric Power Frontier (Tohoku Frontier), to strengthen the monetization of its smart society business development projects.

Tohoku’s smart society business activities are part of multiple goals laid out in the Tohoku Group’s Medium to Long-Term Vision. Tohoku plans to officially establish Tohoku Frontier in April 2021. The headquarters of the company will be located in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture.

Tohoku Frontier will leverage next-generation digital technologies and innovations to sell a wide variety of customer-oriented services that are integrated with electricity rate plans. Based on energy management technologies, the services will allow customers to save, generate, and store their energy. For instance, Tohoku Frontier will offer a bundle service to combine an electricity plan with a solar energy/storage battery installation service. The service will be exclusively provided by Tohoku Solar eCharge, which is scheduled to be established in April 2021, and will start business during the second half of FY 2021.

Tohoku Group plans to contribute to the move forward towards a smart and sustainable society by providing a wide range of innovative services that address social issues through Tohoku Frontier.[1] [2] [3]

[1] https://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/news/normal/1219088_2558.html

[2] https://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/news/normal/1219085_2558.html

[3] https://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/news/normal/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2021/02/25/b1_1219085.pdf

[USA] Chicago requires new residential, commercial construction include EV charging capabilities

On April 24, 2020, the Chicago City Council approved an ordinance that requires new construction of residential and commercial buildings to guarantee at least 20% of parking spaces are ready for electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment to be installed.[1] . The ordinance also requires at least one of the EV-ready spaces be disability accessible and new buildings must have charging infrastructure in place or actual charging stations installed during construction. The new rules only apply to residential buildings with five or more units and commercial buildings with 30 or more parking spaces.

Chicago is committed to reaching 100% renewable energy for all its municipal buildings by 2025 and all city buildings by 2035. In addition, the Chicago Transit Authority plans to electrify its fleet of over 1,850 buses by 2040. According to Chicago officials, the new ordinance is in response to growing EV adoption across the United States; by 2040 more than half of all new car sales will be electric. Consumer advocates like Citizens Utility Board (CUB) say the new ordinance makes Chicago a national leader in its efforts to increase adoption of EVs, and called for similar policies to be adopted more widely.[2]

[1]https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/cdot/provdrs/conservation_outreachgreenprograms/news/2020/april/chicago-city-council--approves-ordinance-to-increase-chicago-s-e.html

[2] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-electric-vehicle-ordinance-makes-chicago-national-leader-301047088.html

［USA］Lyft Adds 200 EVs to Denver Rental Program

Lyft, a ride-share company similar to Uber, announced on November 14, 2019 that it deployed 200 long-range electric vehicles (EVs) into its Express Drive program in Denver. This is the largest EV deployment in state history and one of the largest in the country. The introduction of EVs in Denver follows an announcement earlier this year on February 6, 2019 that Lyft intends to introduce thousands of EVs to their program across multiple cities, and will make it easier for riders to request them through Green Mode, an option to ride in EVs instead of their gasoline-reliant counterparts. The Express Drive program operates in nearly three dozen U.S. cities and allows drivers to rent vehicles through Lyft’s partners instead of committing to longer-term options. Having EVs as a rental option will help solve one of the biggest barriers to adoption of EVs: cost. According to Lyft, the EVs will also help the drivers save on cost, potentially saving them $70-100 per week on fuel costs alone.

References：
https://blog.lyft.com/posts/lyft-denver-ev-2019
https://www.lyft.com/expressdrive
https://blog.lyft.com/posts/2019/2/6/making-cities-more-liveable-with-electric-vehicles

[Japan] Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings and Chubu Electric Power Will Jointly Establish a Next-generation Mobility Company

On August 27, 2019, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO HD) and Chubu Electric Power reached an agreement to jointly establish e-Mobility Power co., Inc., a next-generation mobility company. e-Mobility Power is expected to be officially launched on October 1, 2019. The total investment in e-Mobility Power is about 5 billion yen, 60% of the capital from TEPCO HD and 40% from Chubu Electric Power.

 e-Mobility Power will leverage TEPCO HD and Chubu Electric Power’s knowledge and expertise in the construction, maintenance, and operation of energy infrastructure, as well as their expertise regarding quick charging methods for electric vehicles (EV), such as the CHAdeMO[1] charging method, which was developed in collaboration with automakers. The company aims to deliver services for consumers so that “anyone can charge [their] EV at a reasonable price, anytime, anywhere”.[2]

[1] https://www.chademo.com/about-us/what-is-chademo/

[2] http://www.chuden.co.jp/corporate/publicity/pub_release/press/3271660_21432.html

[Japan] Miyagi Prefecture and Tohoku Electric Power Company Jointly Conduct a Pilot Project for a Virtual Power Interchange System and Virtual Power Plants

On August 8, 2019, Miyagi Prefecture announced that it has partnered with Tohoku Electric Power Company to conduct a pilot project for a virtual power interchange system and virtual power plants (VPP). The project aims to advance the efficiency of renewable energy by using digital technology.

 The project will begin operation soon and run until March 2021. It will test VPP and P2P (peer-to-peer) energy sharing using solar power generation facilities and storage batteries installed in 7 regional joint government offices in Miyagi Prefecture. The electricity produced by solar power and electricity demand in each building will be measured via blockchain technology. The project will also examine how to transfer surplus electricity from one building to another, verifying the effect of P2P energy sharing. Additionally, a storage battery installed in the Kesennuma regional joint government office will be remotely monitored and optimally controlled by a VPP to extend the life of the storage battery and verify its capability to balance power supply and demand.[1]

[1] http://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/news/normal/1202078_1049.html

[Japan] Kansai Electric Power and K-Opticom Initiated a Smart City Project to Visualize People Flow in Kobe city, Hyōgo Prefecture

On December 18, 2018, Kansai Electric Power and K-Opticom, a telecommunications company under Kansai Electric Power, announced that they launched a project for the Visualization of People Flow in Sannomiya area, Kobe city in Hyōgo Prefecture. The project will use data collected from infrared sensors to visualize and map the movement of people throughout the city in real time.

In this project, data on people’s movement will be collected and measured with IoT, using infrared sensors installed at approximately 150 places in the area. The project adopts K-Opticom’s LPWA wireless technology (LoRa system), which can cover a wide area with low power consumption. Two base stations for the LPWA system will be installed . Kobe University will then conduct a people flow analysis using the collected data.

This is the largest-scale people flow analysis project in Japan to date in terms of covered geographic areas. It will be implemented from December 18, 2018 to March 31, 2019. The collected data is expected to be used for improving the safety and security of the city, such as detecting lost children and people in bad physical condition.