E_CITY without MOM / without Diversity
Published : Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
By : Jenny Marusiak
Category : Eco-cities, Energy, Green Buildings
Region : Japan
Tags : architecture, batteries, electricity, emissions, energy efficiency, energy security, fuel cells, natural gas, smart grids, solar, urban planning
Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town developers aim to provide an international model for energy efficient living. Image: Panasonic Corporation
Japan’s Fujisawa City is working with nine private sector firms to build a sustainable urban town which will see solar systems and battery storage technology installed in all homes and town facilities – a world first.
The project’s architects say the smart town could also become a model town that can be replicated in Japan’s earthquake-damaged areas.
The ‘Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town’, unveiled last Thursday, will cater for 1,000 households or a population of 3,000, and will be based on a collection of sustainability solutions, called Eco Ideas, from Japanese electronics giant Panasonic Corporation.
The partnership comes on the back of an agreement reached last November between Panasonic Corporation and the City of Fujisawa, located 50 kilometres west of Tokyo, to develop Panasonic’s former factory site into a smart town.
Panasonic and its partners, a group of developers, manufacturers and service providers, will combine efforts from the master planning stage to the actual operation of the town. The project, which costs US$742 million and spans 19 hectares, will be completed in 2014.
