Firms plug into solar power generation

TOKYO, Mar 05, 2010 (The Yomiuri Shimbun - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --

Major electric appliance manufacturers are pouring resources into improved solar power generator lineups and production capacity.

The companies displayed their latest products at PV Expo 2010, a three-day trade show of solar power generation products that ran through Friday in Tokyo's Ariake district.

In addition to the resumption last year of state subsidies for home owners who buy solar generators, a system has begun obliging electric power companies
to purchase surplus electricity generated by the equipment at double the previous price.

Economists predict the solar power generator market will continue to expand, mainly among private households.

Competition among manufacturers of the equipment has intensified as more foreign companies and firms in other business sectors enter the market.

At PV Expo 2010, Sharp Corp. displayed solar power cells whose solar energy conversion efficiency is 35.8 percent, the world's highest.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. exhibited a solar power panel for use in ordinary houses with an increased electric power output capacity 3 percent larger than the firm's previous model.

All the companies that participated in the trade show focused on raising conversion efficiency and highlighted their respective technologies.

Kyocera Corp. promoted its latest technologies and ideas, such as a solar panel that attaches to the roof of cars.

Some major foreign manufacturers also were represented, including the world's No. 3 solar power cell maker, China's Suntech Power, and fifth-ranked Motech Industries Inc. of Taiwan.

The foreign makers have lavished much attention on the Japanese market, where future growth is expected.

Yutaka Yamamoto, president of Suntech Power's Japanese unit, said, "We aim to grab at least a 10 percent market share in Japan by the end of this year."

Electric appliance makers are enthusiastic about the solar power generation business because they view the field as one of a small number in this country that is expected to see future growth.

The industry also is benefiting from a favorable environment in which the government is considering introducing a system to compel electric power companies to buy not only surplus electricity but all power output from solar power generation.

Rising demand for solar power generation is predicted not only in Japan but worldwide, pushed along by the rising interest in the environment.

Some economists predict the solar cell market will grow more than fivefold in the next 10 years to reach 10 trillion yen in 2020.

In expectation of rising demand, Kyocera opened a new plant in June in Yasu, Shiga Prefecture, aiming to increase output capacity 2.5-fold in fiscal 2012 from the fiscal 2009 level.

Sanyo Electric Co. also plans to raise its domestic output 1.7-fold within fiscal 2010.

Beginning in April, Toshiba Corp. will begin selling home-use solar power generators in addition to conventional models for industrial use.

Many companies from other business fields, such as Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. and Honda Motor Co., have entered the solar power business, escalating competition for technological development and increase in output.

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Largest solar energy home community showcased in S California

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The largest solar powered community in the U.S. with 384 units completed its first phase and opened to the public Tuesday in Santa Fe Springs, Southern California.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sent his representative Alexander Kim to congratulate on the opening.

Schwarzenegger is an active advocator of solar powered homes. He has set a goal to have 1 million homes with solar roof. He said the Villages at Heritage Springs is a model for California and also for the whole country.

Named the Villages at Heritage Springs, the 50-acre community is now offering the first 18 single-family homes and 19 town homes for sale.

When fully built-out, the community will include 384 residences. All of these homes feature the latest in solar power and energy-efficient technology that is expected to reduce homeowner's power bills by up to 60 percent.

"Villages at Heritage Springs is a look at the future of home building," said Tabassom Ayazi, Vice President for Comstock Homes Sales and Marketing.

"Making homes more energy-efficient and giving them solar power should not be an after thought. Conserving energy and saving money should be a consideration before the house is built," said Ayazi.

Comstock Homes has partnered with San Jose, California-based SunPower to install its SunTilea solar roof tiles on each of the new residences in the community. The solar tiles look like ordinary tiles so the houses will remain an elegant style.

These homes also incorporate other energy saving features including dual pane low energy windows, high efficiency heating and air conditioning, tankless water heaters, energy efficient lighting and special cool roof tiles. Homes in Villages at Heritage Springs will exceed the national energy standard by 50 percent.

The gated community, including both single-family homes and town homes, is built around a private recreation area with pool, spa, barbecue, picnic area, and playground and basketball court.

In addition to their energy saving features, these homes will have gourmet kitchens with granite counters, luxurious master suites with walk-in closets and many other special attributes that have become the trademark of Comstock Homes.

"This kind of home construction is a win-win situation for everyone," added Ayazi.

"For the developer it adds value to the homes, buyers get a tax rebate and long-term savings on energy, and of course, our environment benefits as well," he said.

The single houses and town homes are priced between 385,000 dollars to 576,000 dollars, with square feet ranking from 1,390 to2,166.

California has prided itself as being a leader in alternative energy innovation. Driving through the hills around Livermore, Palm Springs, or between San Diego and Yuma bring skylines full of wind turbines.

The California Energy Commission claims that wind turbines generated 6,802 gigawatt-hours of electricity -- about 2.3 percent of the state's gross system power.

By the end of 2009 California actually expects to hit nearly 5 percent energy production from renewable sources.

While the wind turbine program has slowed down due to animal rights groups objecting to bird casualties due to propeller strikes, California has not slowed down in its aggressive goals for green energy production.

California's Energy Commission has set a goal of hitting 20 percent by the end of 2010, and 33 percent by the end of 2020.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress has set a goal for 20 percent renewable energy production nationwide by 2010.

California's program falls under "The California Energy Commission's New Solar Homes Partnership" (NSHP).

California also offers financial incentives to homebuilders to design energy efficiency and the potential of renewable energy planning into the new home.

Solar energy is one of the most significant personal actions one can take to cut air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, while helping to conserve precious energy resources for future generations. Plus, it reduces the need for costly new power plants, according to the NSHP.

All California homeowners implementing solar panels in their homes also qualify for the federal tax credits up to 2,000 dollars.

Clear Skies Solar Signs Contract for Installation of $4.8 Million Solar Energy System Microdyne Plastics

Rochester, New York 11/11/2009 12:20 AM GMT (TransWorldNews)

Clear Skies Solar, Inc. (OTCBB:CSKH) has signed a contract to install a $4.8 million 875 kW solar energy system on the roof of the Microdyne building in Colton, Ca. Clear Skies Solar is announcing the approval of the rebate issued on November 2, 2009 from the Colton Electric Utility. The five year rebate/incentive will total about $1,696,000.00 and, along with the 30% federal cash rebate.

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About Clear Skies Solar:

Clear Skies Solar, Inc. (CSS) through its wholly owned subsidiary provides full-service renewable energy solutions to commercial, industrial, and agricultural clients across the country. CSS was incorporated in 2003 and launched formal operations in 2005. During that time period, CSS developed its proprietary systems, obtained licenses and certifications, and acquired technologies that could maximize the impact of its construction expertise on the renewable energy sector. CSS has become one of the premier solar electric installation companies in the country.

92% of Americans support solar power development, study says

According to the Los Angeles Times this morning

October 7, 2009 | 9:05 pm

The vast majority -- 92% -- of Americans think it’s important for the country to develop and use solar power, according to a study released today, making the alternative energy option potentially one of the most popular things since puppies or ice cream.

The sentiment was echoed almost evenly across political parties, with 89% of Republicans, 94% of Democrats and 93% of Independents agreeing that solar energy is an important aim.

The 2009 Schott Solar Barometer, conducted by independent polling firm Kelton Research, found that 77% of respondents also believe the federal government should make solar power development a national priority. Nearly half are considering solar power options for their home or business, while 70% of those hope to make the switch in the next five years. Only 3% already use the sun for energy.

If, as president of the U.S., they had to choose one energy source to fund, 43% of respondents would chose solar, followed by the 17% who picked wind, the 12% who settled on natural gas and the 10% who selected nuclear.

And yet only 12% of those polled could say that they were extremely informed about solar power while 74% said they wished they knew more about solar power options.

The study, conducted from Aug. 31 to Sept. 8, was commissioned by German photovoltaic company Schott Solar.

-- Tiffany Hsu

Solar Panel Companies Face Financial Troubles

Written by James Heiser

Tuesday, 08 September 2009 13:45

With the ink barely dry on the resignation letter of self-proclaimed one-time communist Van Jones as President Obama’s Green Jobs Czar, the USA Today is reporting that one area of the “green economy” that is faltering is its virtual mascot: solar power. According to the USA Today, Market leaders, including First Solar (FSLR) and SunPower (SPWRA), for instance, are down 12% and 30% this year, even as the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 13%. And the Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF, which tracks stocks in the industry, is down 6% this year. Unlike the big drops in other once-hot stock groups, solar's troubles aren't just caused by speculators rushing out. There are some real problems in the industry behind the sell-off of the stocks. Environmental alarmists around the world are eagerly awaiting the upcoming UN environmental conference in Copenhagen. If all goes according to plan, the December conference will adopt a substantial expansion of the Kyoto Protocol, with a document perhaps 10 times the length of the 1997 protocol overseeing broad sectors of the economies of the nations of the world — all in the name of saving the environment. At the same time, why are the companies that make solar power panels suffering such financial difficulties? With the globalists’ cries alternating between the crescendoes of global-warming hysteria and “green economy” hype, how could solar power be in financial trouble? In part, because solar is still not economically competitive and in part because the European government contracts that helped drive the “boom” in the solar industry in recent years are being dramatically curtailed. According to the USA Today: Thanks to generous programs to encourage green power, European nations have been top buyers of solar modules. However, many are scaling back their subsidies, causing more softness in demand. Last year, for instance, Spain put a cap on its solar incentive program, causing the demand from a country that accounted for a big piece of the market to shrink 80%, [Nathaniel] Bullard [of New Energy Finance] says. Of even more concern is Germany, the largest solar consumer in the world, which is mulling a cut to incentives to buyers of solar power, [Christine] Hersey [of Wedbush Morgan] says. "Since Germany is the largest market, it sets the tone," she says, adding some solar companies get 60% of revenue from Germany. The subsidies have become unpopular because much of the money is going to Chinese, not German, solar companies, she says. In short, in the midst of the global economic meltdown, solar power has become a luxury that the Spanish and German governments have decided they can no longer afford. But if the economic costs of “going green” are already leading European powers away from alternative energy, how can they — or the United States — bear the burden of far more sweeping, even fundamental, changes to the global economy as part of the globalists’ agenda at Copenhagen? If “cap and trade” drives the cost of energy to stratospheric levels — and thus simultaneously drives up the cost of every business, and cripples household budgets already strained to their limits because of the on-going economic crisis — the bill will come crashing down on the heads of those people who are barely hanging on right now. Not only are the cutbacks in European “green energy” programs hurting the solar panel business: the USA Today also cites an attendant glut of solar panels, and the difficulties that companies and consumers are experiencing getting loans as contributing factors weakening the companies producing the panels. The irony is that solar power is now more reasonably priced that it has been: according to the USA Today report, an oversupply of solar panels has cut the cost of home system in half, to around $10,000— a price that consumers should be free to weigh as they determine how best to provide for their energy needs within their household budgets, and as they consider what might happen to their energy bills if “cap and tax” is approved and the successor to the Kyoto Protocol is adopted in December.

PA Program helps fund alternative energy projects

Program helps fund alternative energy projects

Pennsylvania homeowners and small business owners seeking to reduce their electric bills through alternative energy projects can find assistance through a new rebate program, state Sen. Wayne D. Fontana said.

The PA Sunshine Solar Program, passed by the General Assembly in 2008 as part of a sweeping energy legislation package, will provide $100 million in rebates to eligible consumers who purchase and install solar energy technology.

Fontana said consumers may be reimbursed up to 35 percent of the purchase and installation costs of solar electric and solar hot water projects. The combined assistance of these rebates and federal tax credits could reduce system costs for consumers by 45 percent.

Several projects are eligible for the rebate, including installation of solar panels that help provide electricity for pumping water, powering communications equipment, lighting homes or businesses, and running appliances. In addition, installing a solar water heating system can produce hot water necessary for washing, cooking, cleaning, and other domestic and commercial uses of hot water.

New Bionamic Concept Car

Bionamic concept car merges solar energy with nanotube super-strength

In a world where our sneaker designs are outpacing our car designs in terms of futuristic style, designer Güney Kol decided to create a concept car that appears to be heavily influenced by the world of sports shoes. Dubbed the Bionamic, the car would be electrically powered and travel the streets covered in carbon/metal nanotube metal alloy.

The car would also be efficiently swathed in a blanket of tiny solar cells allowing it to charge whenever idle during the daytime. Finally, as if the concept car was geeky enough, Kol does away with a steering wheel and instead gives us joysticks to operate the vehicle. Let's hope the big boys of the auto industry are paying close attention.

Via Tuvie