Tohoku Electric Power Co. and Fujitsu Ltd. will join forces with the city of Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima Prefecture to turn it into a "smart community" centered on renewable energy and engage residents in energy-saving efforts.
Fujitsu will oversee the project, which will run through March 2016, and set up a center to control such renewable energies as solar and biomass power in conjunction with Tohoku Electric, the three entities announced Wednesday.
The Aizuwakamatsu Municipal Government will devise a system to use electric vehicles as power sources at times when the city's regular power supply is paralyzed by natural disasters, since EV batteries can temporarily serve as mobile energy units, they said.