City of Lancaster Microgrid to Honor Consul General Akira Muto of Japan

Lancaster, CA. August 12, 2022 - The City of Lancaster announced today that its City Hall microgrid will be named the "Pacific Energy Center" (PAEC) to honor outgoing Consul General Akira Muto of Japan. The microgrid is being developed in partnership with Yamaguchi, Japan-based Choshu Industries Corp. of America, leveraging solar, battery, and hydrogen solutions to provide reliable green energy to City Hall. The PAEC forms part of a larger hydrogen ecosystem being developed by the City. "Pacific '' is representative of the connection between Namie, Japan and Lancaster, California through the Pacific Ocean. In the logo, the hydrogen atom at the end of pacific is reflective of the hydrogen connection across the pacific between two unlikely partners and their commitment to creating a more sustainable future.

"It is my distinct pleasure to announce that theCity of Lancaster's microgrid will honor Consul General Akira Muto. Muto-san has been a steadfast and reliable partner for Lancaster. Our green energy projects and partnerships, especially for hydrogen, would not have been possible without his support and assistance in building relationships between Lancaster and various ministries and agencies of the Government of Japan," said R. Rex Parris, Mayor of the City of Lancaster. "The Pacific Energy Center is an important step in Lancaster's Hydrogen Master Plan that advances our timeline to become the first Hydrogen City in the United States."

Akira Muto has served as the Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles since 2019. Throughout his tenure in Los Angeles, Mr. Muto strengthened Japanese-American relations through his commitment to supporting Japanese businesses in the United States. "Consul General Muto initiated our understanding of Japan's concept of a hydrogen society. He subsequently facilitated the establishment of Lancaster's Smart Sister City relationship with Namie Town in Fukushima - the first two municipalities in the world to commit to develop local hydrogen production, distribution, and usage ecosystems" said Lex Heslin, CEO of Enso Infrastructure and Senior Project Developer at Hitachi Zosen Inova.

Mr. Muto was an essential partner to the City of Lancaster's work with the Japanese business community, and was instrumental in the development of the City's Green Energy Microgrid (GEM) system at Lancaster City Hall with Choshu Industries. The partnership will integrate Choshu's "SHiPS," a containerized hydrogen production and refueling station system, and "MizTomo," a stationary fuel cell power system.

"Muto-san's contributions to the City of Lancaster will live on through the clean energy provided by the Pacific Energy Center for future generations that call Lancaster home," said Parris.

Parris is a fifth-term Republican mayor who transformed Lancaster into a renewable energy leader over the past decade by attracting more than $2 billion of investment in cutting-edge green companies and technologies. Investors include BYD, which manufactures electric buses; Heliogen, which generates hydrogen from concentrated solar energy; SGH2, which gasifies wastepaper into hydrogen; and Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI), which converts organic waste into renewable natural gas and hydrogen. The City also started its own utility company, Lancaster Energy, allowing residents to choose local renewable energy at lower prices.