Estimation of Renewable Energy Potentials Using Geographic and Climatic Databases —A Case Study of the Tochigi Prefecture of Japan—

Real-time weather data were used in the simulation to promote renewable energy utilisation in the smart grid approach. The case study was conducted for the 11 cities in the Tochigi prefecture to show the suitability of renewable energy and to determine the regions that might use it. Solar power had the highest capability of producing electricity, followed by biomass, hydropower, and wind power. The ratio of each renewable energy generation depends on the characteristics of each city’s geographical and climatic conditions. The amount of surplus electricity for one year was not considered in the yearly and monthly estimations. In the hourly estimation, 3,363 MWh/year of surplus electricity was available for use in city shortfalls using smart-grid approaches. The maximum surplus electricity was found to be 4,235 MWh/year through a daily estimation; in contrast, 9,075 MWh/year was observed as the surplus in hourly estimations for Nasu city of the Tochigi prefecture. We have found that surplus electricity was higher at Nasu due to the geographic and climatic conditions available for wind power generation. A similar approach to renewable energy potential can be considered for rural areas in Japan for additional sources of energy besides fossil fuel and nuclear plants.