Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (Fujisawa SST), is a city intelligent and sustainable with full vision of the future located 50 kilometers from Tokyo. It has been promoted by a consortium led by Panasonic Corporation, and was launched in November 2014.
The Fujisawa SST project will be fully completed in 2018, precisely the year of the centenary of the founding of Panasonic, and covers an area of 19 hectares located in a former company factory. With a total cost of 60,000 million yen, the city will have a population of 3,000 inhabitants who will occupy the 1,000 planned homes. Companies participating in the experiment include NTT, France Telecom and Accenture. Although Fusijawa SST has cost €750 million to build to date, Panasonic believes that in the not too distant future it will be possible to export the sustainable smart city concept. In addition, it will serve as a showcase to show the capacities of the associated and participating companies.
With some phases still under construction, the first inhabitants of this city, which aspires to become a benchmark by being sustainable for 100 years, have already moved into one of the 1,000 houses that it will have in 2018. In it, Panasonic will test everything on a large scale its energy management equipment to reduce energy consumption by up to 70% in homes and 20% in common places. Each roof is covered with solar panels and the energy produced is optimally stored (the internal system optimizes the use of the equipment). Domestic batteries are also expected to be able to hold enough energy to power basic electrical services for three days in the event of a power grid failure. Over time, the city intends to make use of wind and geothermal energy and manage the energy savings efficiently to be able to sell its surplus to neighboring cities. Fujisawa has set itself the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions by 70%, water consumption by 30% and increasing the use of renewable energy by 30%. For this, a fleet of electric vehicles and bicycles is available.
Ecological aspects aside, what is most striking is the feeling of community that has emerged. Residents participate in the community: older people play with children and pass on their knowledge and culture, parents help children with school difficulties to catch up, citizens organize activities and classes in crafts, cooking, reading, musical instruments … Regarding security, a crucial aspect in the development of the community, no detail has been spared. For example, when a person or a vehicle is moving at night, the lights in the area in question come on. A discreet, efficient and environmentally friendly system. The social and political aspects of managing these communities can, in many cases, outweigh the importance of fundamental technological possibilities.
At Fujisawa SST, everyone is encouraged to submit ideas that can improve the situation of the city, and the most popular proposals are presented in the square (ideas related to improving the city are especially appreciated). mutual assistance and exchange of knowledge and experience). A points system recognizes and rewards the most active citizens both in this regard and in saving energy.