JUMPSmartMaui Announces Successful Completion of Project

JUMPSmartMaui installed 13 DC Fast chargers in Maui. MEDB and Hitachi Advanced Clean Energy Corporation continue to provide good charging service with members participating in the project.

JUMPSmartMaui stakeholders announced the successful completion of “JUMPSmartMaui,” a collaborative demonstration project between Japan, Hawaiʻi and Maui that incorporated Smart Grid, renewable energy, and all-electric vehicle solutions in Maui’s electrical grid.

The goal of JUMPSmartMaui – based on a US-Japan government agreement – was to demonstrate smart grid technologies to enable the efficient use of renewable energy in an island setting.

The project would aggregate and control distributed energy resources, EVs, and other innovative technologies to respond to changing demands on the grid caused by the increasing levels of as-available renewable energy.

JUMPSmartMaui installed 13 DC Fast chargers in Maui. MEDB and Hitachi Advanced Clean Energy Corporation continue to provide good charging service with members participating in the project.

Since the project launched in June 2011, 530 residents and businesses participated in this demonstration project that was conducted in two phases.

In Phase 1, the project recruited more than 200 EV owners or lessees of the Nissan Leaf and 30 homeowner volunteers. The Leaf was selected because of its battery size. JUMPSmartMaui installed 13 Fast Charging stations across Maui, the first such installation in Hawaiʻi.

Participants were offered access to the Fast Charging stations as well as the installation of Level II chargers and smart energy monitoring devices at their homes. During this phase, valuable data was collected from volunteers to evaluate how these devices could contribute to electric grid with more renewables being integrated.

Phase 2 advanced the next phase of energy management for homes and businesses. A total of 80 volunteers were provided with the EV-Power Conditioning System (EV-PCS) units at their homes. As part of the demonstration, the EV-PCS, a technology developed by Hitachi, charged the EV and discharged the power to the home or business or to Maui Electric in response to the needs of the electric grid. The overall goal of this phase was to create a “virtual power plant” that would integrate and manage distributed renewable energy resources such as EV batteries within the electric grid for the benefit of the community.

JUMPSmartMaui was funded by Japan’s largest public research and development management organization, NEDO. Stakeholder partners included NEDO, Hitachi Ltd./Hitachi Advanced Clean Energy Corporation, along with Mizuho Corporate Bank and Cyber Defense Institute, Nissan; the State of Hawaiʻi; the County of Maui; Maui Electric Company and Hawaiian Electric Company; Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute; Maui Economic Development Board, Inc.; University of Hawaiʻi Maui College; The project enabled the installation of:

• A total of 13 DC Fast Charging Stations were installed at Kalana O Maui Building (Wailuku), Queen Kaʻahumanu Center (Kahului), J. Walter Cameron Center (Kahului), Maui Tropical Plantation (Wailuku), Maui Ocean Center (Māʻalaea), Kāʻanapali Beach Hotel (Lahaina), Lahaina Aquatic Center (Lahaina), The Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course (Kahului), Pukalani Town Center (Pukalani), Kulamalu Town Center (Pukalani), Piʻilani Village Shopping Center (Kīhei), and Hope Chapel (Kīhei).
• Battery energy storage systems were installed at UH Maui College and Waste Water Treatment Plant.
• 200 Level 2 chargers and 80 EV-PCSs were installed at the volunteers’ sites.

These 13 DC Fast Charging Stations will continue to operate on Maui and serve members who choose to continue their participation. .JUMPSmartMaui is recruiting new members in a new program, the details of which will be announced soon. Although initially, the stations targeted Nissan Leaf owners and lessees, the new program will be open to other electric vehicle, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

According to Makoto Watanabe, Directors of New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, “The project ended successfully in February this year. There was a great effort of the local stakeholders behind this success. As a result, participating in the program by using EVs, the idea that we can make a good contribution to the whole island business has taken root. Representing NEDO, I am proud to have run this demonstration project in this area. The project could not have been accomplished without the support from the people of Maui and Hawaiʻi. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the stakeholders including the County of Maui, the State of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute, Maui College, Hawaiʻi Electric, Maui Electric, the Maui Economic Development Board and all the participated volunteers.”

According to Fumitoshi Emura, President of Hitachi Advanced Clean Energy Corporation, “With the tremendous support of Maui residents, this project demonstrated how the electricity demands of the utility grid, the home, and businesses can be satisfied with the integration of electric vehicles. This demonstration proves that we can dramatically change the interface between mobility and energy.”

The impact of JUMPSmartMaui is obvious on the roads where the EV is now commonly seen. I would like to express our gratitude again to all Maui residents and our dedicated stakeholders. We are ready to enhance the DC Fast Charging service on Maui and exploring the expansion to other islands and welcome the continued support of residents.”

According to Sharon Suzuki, President of Maui Electric Company, “The JUMPSmartMaui project helped us better understand how Smart Grid technology, renewable energy and EVs can work together. By continuing to improve utility operations, we can help our customers better manage their energy usage and make smarter energy choices. Ultimately, these efforts will contribute to solving Maui’s energy challenges.”

“JUMPSmartMaui was a true collaborative effort on a local, state and international scale,” said Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa. “Like Hawaii, Japan continues to look for ways to efficiently use clean energy on smaller electric systems that serve individual islands. This project enabled us to pool all our resources and expertise so we can better develop solutions that will help significantly increase our use of clean energy sources.”

Maui Economic Development Board is working with Hitachi to maintain the EV Fast Charging stations infrastructure in the State of Hawaii for the benefit of EV users.

“Moving forward, our hope is that programs like JUMPSmartMaui will continue to generate more community interest in renewable energy solutions,” said Jeanne Unemori Skog, President and CEO of Maui Economic Development Board. “The investment in this project by Japan has truly been a gift to Maui and a major contribution to understanding how to achieve our 100% renewable energy goals.”