Yokohama’s Climate Protection Projects

The FutureCity Yokohama initiative aims to create a well balanced and prosperous city that everyone wants to live in by tackling diverse challenges including issues related to the environment and the super-aging society.
The population of Yokohama has grown by 3.5 times in the last 60 years, and the volume of energy consumption continues to increase accordingly. Moreover, in relation to the problem of the super-aging society, it has been estimated, that the number of elderly people over the age of 65 will reach one million by 2029. In order to build a stimulating city amidst such a situation, it is crucially important to revitalize the economy.
To comprehensively solve such issues, FutureCity Yokohama will focus its efforts on five areas, namely ‘low carbon and energy saving’, ‘water and natural environment’, ‘responding to the super-aging society’, ‘creativity’ and ‘challenge’.

The Yokohama Smart City Project (YSCP) is a social system demonstration project whose ultimate goal is the construction of Japanese-style smart grids and their spread in other countries. Running for a period of five years, beginning 2010, its mission is the verification of technology, mechanisms, and business models for smart cities.
Staged in Yokohama, a major city with diverse types of terrain, it rests on collaboration between the city and numerous private enterprises (including Accenture, Tokyo Gas, Toshiba, Nissan Motor, Panasonic, Meidensha, and TEPCO). Examples of projects include those involving renewable and as yet unused forms of energy.
At present, to utilize the technologies and know-how accumulated in the Yokohama Smart City Project (YSCP) and to update the project from the demonstration stage to the implementation stage. Yokohama City sets up a new public-private partnership organization, Yokohama Smart Business Association, aiming for the creation of an energy-recycling city with excellent disaster- resistance, environmental performance, and economic viability.

Community Energy Management System – Controlling renewable energy by empowering the consumers to make efficient use of electricity.

Home Energy Management System – Energy consumption visualization and demonstration of demand response (DR) function by integrating power generators such as solar cells.

Building Energy Management System – Optimizing energy supply to an entire building by controlling cogenerators, storage batteries, and EV infrastructure.

Factory Energy Management System -  Conducting optimum control of energy for an entire factory through peak cut operation with e.g. concentrate photovoltaic.

City of Yokohama, TEPCO Energy Partner, Inc. and Toshiba Corporation are working together to install storage batteries in elementary and junior high schools designated local disaster shelters (one in each ward for a total of 18 schools) and run remote operation tests to control electricity usage at times of peak demand in an integrated manner. Coordinating usage in ordinary times and acting as an emergency power source during emergencies, these will both serve as a countermeasure to peak electricity demand and increase resilience to disaster.

-Charging during periods of low demand and supplying power during peaks (charging/supplying is controlled automatically by remote energy management systems)

-Reducing use of old, inefficient thermal power plants currently used during peaks

Eco-renovations and consulting sessions on how to introduce energy-saving measures to people’s homes.

The coastal area of Yokohama is testing a unique approach toward the mitigation of global warming by using marine resources. Aiming for the introduction of Yokohama’s proprietary carbon offset scheme, the city is undertaking a social experiment to offset CO2 emitted in the Seaside Triathlon Competitions and the World Triathlon series Yokohama.

Within the ‚future city‘ campaign, Yokohama City tries to raise awareness regarding the climate change and to convince more and more people to use public transportation in order to reduce the CO² emissions. Therefore the Nissan Future Lab’s newest innovation of super small-sized electric car ‘choimobi’ drives from event to event to show the citizens a possible future solution to the CO² emission problem

All photo copyrights of the photos shown above belong to ©Yokohama Climate Change Policy Headquarter.

At water treatment plants, the city is working on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by installing energy-saving equipment, efficient operation management and placing solar power panels on roofs of sewerage facilities.

©AP/C40