OMRON Social Solutions Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Katsuhiro Shikata; hereinafter "OSS") has upgraded its existing "Three-Phase Surplus Power Sales Self-Consumption System"—currently sold to medium-scale solar power plants operating within low-to-high voltage ranges—and will begin marketing the enhanced "Surplus Power Sales Self-Consumption System" (※1) by late July 2013. This solution integrates seamlessly with OMRON’s single-phase power conditioners, battery storage systems, and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technologies.

Market Drivers and Challenges

In recent years, corporate adoption of renewable energy has accelerated due to initiatives like RE100 (※2), which aims to power business operations entirely through renewables, and rising ESG investment opportunities. Concurrently, escalating electricity prices have amplified the importance of localized solar generation for self-consumption. To address these trends, emerging energy markets such as Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) (※3) models are expanding, particularly for high-voltage surplus power sales systems. However, excessive solar generation often triggers output control measures (※4) by utilities, leading to revenue losses from curtailed power sales and delayed system deployments due to suboptimal ROI.

Product Evolution

Since 2021, OSS has offered "Full Self-Consumption Systems," where facilities utilize 100% of generated solar power without surplus sales. In 2023, the company enhanced this concept with the three-phase "Surplus Power Sales Self-Consumption System," which optimized surplus sales while complying with new output control regulations, earning positive market reception. The latest iteration now supports single-phase power conditioners, storage units, and V2X systems, enabling greater customization.

Key Features

1. Regulatory Compliance and Loss Mitigation: The system adheres to output control revisions (※4) introduced in June 2011, allowing unutilized self-consumption power—previously restricted under older regulations—to be sold profitably, thereby minimizing revenue loss.
2. Flexible System Design: Pairing with single-phase conditioners permits tailored installations suited to environmental constraints, while battery integration enables Backup Continuity Plan (BCP) applications.
3. Scalability and Efficiency: Compatible with OMRON’s KPBP-B Series (shared residential/commercial storage) and KPEP-A-2 Series (Multi-V2X), the system maximizes generation capacity and space utilization. It also doubles as a Full Self-Consumption System using identical configurations, streamlining inventory and installation processes.

Technical Advantage

Unlike conventional full-output systems that universally curtail generation during output control events, the new solution prioritizes self-consumption and sells only permissible surplus power within control limits. This approach, combined with battery storage, significantly reduces generation losses.

OSS Commitment

By addressing diverse self-consumption needs across low-to-high voltage applications, OMRON aims to accelerate renewable energy adoption while delivering scalable, efficient solutions for evolving energy markets.