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Towards Sustainable Energy Systems Through Deploying Smart Grids: The Japanese Case

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Smart Grid Applications and Developments

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

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Abstract

The deployment of smart grids has a major role to play in Japan’s aspiration to achieve sustainable energy systems. A smart grid in Japan is designed to have an intelligent monitoring system, which not only keeps track of all the energy coming in from diverse sources but also can detect where energy is needed through a two-way communication system that collects data about how and when consumers use power. This chapter examines the vision, concepts, and elements of Japan’s smart grid development. Smart grids are a part of the Japanese government’s ‘go green’ effort to bring Japan to a leadership position in environmental and energy sustainability. This analysis provides an overview of Japan’s major initiatives in deploying smart grids, including smart communities, large-scale smart grid pilot projects in four major cities, as well as overseas collaboration. Major smart grid awareness promotion bodies in Japan are discussed along with their important initiatives for influencing and shaping policy, architecture, standards, and traditional utility operations. Implementing a smart grid will not happen quickly because when Japan does adopt one, it will continue to undergo transformation and be updated to support new technologies and functionality.

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Acknowledgments

This chapter is an updated republication of the paper ‘The Japanese Smart Grid Initiatives, Investment, and Collaborations’ by Amy Poh Ai Ling, Sugihara Kokichi, and Mukaidono Masao, International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications 3(7), 44–45. The copyright permission for reusing the paper has been granted by SAI Organization Inc. The author was supported by the MIMS Ph. D. Program of the Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences (MIMS) and DC2 Scholarship of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Technology Management for Innovations, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Amy Poh Ai Ling

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  1. Amy Poh Ai Ling
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Correspondence to Amy Poh Ai Ling .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China

    Daphne Mah

  2. The Kadoorie Institute, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Peter Hills

  3. Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Victor O.K. Li

  4. Paris School of International Affairs and Centre d’Etudes Europeennes, Tsinghua University, Paris, France

    Richard Balme

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Ling, A.P.A. (2014). Towards Sustainable Energy Systems Through Deploying Smart Grids: The Japanese Case. In: Mah, D., Hills, P., Li, V., Balme, R. (eds) Smart Grid Applications and Developments. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6281-0_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6281-0_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-6280-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-6281-0

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