Toyota to add solar panels to some Prius hybrids

Toyota is leading the pack in hybrid innovation. We are happy to see mobile solar panels on the road.


Toyota is due to launch the third-generation Prius next year.
Photograph by : Handout photo

'More of a symbolic gesture'
ReutersPublished: Monday, July 07, 2008

TOKYO - Toyota Motor Corp. plans to install solar panels on some Prius hybrids in its next remodelling, responding to growing demand for "green" cars amid record-high oil prices, a source briefed on the matter said on Monday.

The panels, supplied by Kyocera Corp, would be able to power part of the air-conditioning on high-end versions of the gasoline-electric Prius, the source said.

"It's more of a symbolic gesture," said the source, who asked not to be identified. "It's very difficult to power much more than that with solar energy."

Toyota is due to launch the third-generation Prius next year.

Big automakers are racing to come up with alternative solutions to using fossil fuels to appear ecologically conscious and to lure consumers looking to save money at the pump.

But solar power is not seen as a viable solution to power cars. Solar panels are expensive due to rising silicon prices and storing energy is difficult, the source said. It was unknown how much the solar panels on the new Prius cars would cost, or how many solar-mounted versions Toyota would build.

A Toyota spokesman declined to comment, saying the company does not talk about future product plans.

Mazda Motor Corp briefly offered a solar panel option on two car models, the Eunos 800 and Sentia, in the early 1990s to ventilate the sedans while parked on hot summer days. The expensive option was unpopular and discontinued after a few years.

Kentaro Endo, a director at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry who specialises in renewable energy, said the application of solar energy was severely limited in vehicles.

"Even if you laid solar panels out on the entire roof of a house, you only generate enough energy to run two hair dryers," he said.

"It's an interesting idea, but it would be very difficult to power a whole car, even with technological advances."

Toyota has struggled to keep up with demand for the Prius as soaring gasoline prices put consumers off of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. Rival Honda Motor Co. will also step up its hybrid push with a new, low-cost model early next year, followed by several other gasoline-electric cars.

Automakers have teamed up with battery makers to develop and produce lithium-ion batteries to store more energy in smaller packages to extend cruising distances.

Toyota has partnered with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., while Nissan Motor Co. has a joint venture with the NEC Corp. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is working with GS Yuasa Corp.

The Prius, the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car, first went on sale in Japan in late 1997 and in other markets in 2000. Cumulative sales have topped 1 million units worldwide.

Toyota has a goal of selling at least 1 million hybrid cars a year in the early part of the next decade by offering the fuel-saving system on more vehicles.

Toyota shares ended 1.4 percent higher at 4,990 yen as the dollar rose against the yen. Kyocera lost 0.1 percent to 9,740 yen, while the Nikkei average gained 0.9 percent.

(via. driving.ca)

Solar panels could meet large share of world energy needs: study

London (Platts) -- Sept 1, 2008

Solar photovoltaic panels could supply electricity to more than 4 billionpeople worldwide by 2030 and could meet all of Europe's energy requirements,while occupying less than 1% of European lands, a study issued Monday byGreenpeace and the European Photovoltaic Industry Association concludes.

"Solar Generation 2008" said the PV industry is growing and has showed itcan become a global energy contributor. More than 1.8 million MW of PV arrayswill be installed around the world by 2030, equal to 14% of global electricitydemand, according to the analysis. This would reduce CO2 emissions by 1.6billion metric tons, equal to the carbon releases from 450 coal-fired plants,Greenpeace and EPIA said...

In Europe, "solar energy is becoming more economically viable and shouldbecome cost-competitive with conventional energy by 2015 in southern Europeancountries and by 2020 across most of Europe," according to the study. It citedestimates that power from PV could satisfy all of Europe's electricity needswhile taking up just 0.7% of its land mass.

Though PV is typically associated with rooftop solar panels,grid-connected PV plants of 1 MW or more now represent about 10% of theEuropean PV market, the analysis found.

Greenpeace and EPIA credit the feed-in tariff mechanism used in many EUcountries, including Germany and Spain, with boosting PV use. A feed-intariff, which guarantee payments for electicity generated from PV and otherrenewable sources, "provides fair remuneration to the investor, and rewardsthe effort made in investing in a clean energy source," the study said.

EU policy-makers are slated to approve a final renewable energy directivethis fall that "is expected to reinforce the current legal framework and couldfacilitate the implementation of the feed-in tariff scheme throughout Europe,"it said.

(via. platts)

Cooking with solar energy can save money

By JAMES DULLEY • August 31, 2008

Sun Ovens International
The Sun Oven opens up with hinged reflectors to increase the solar cooking heat.

Much of the world uses solar cooking to prepare most of their foods. On a clear day, the heat from the sun can easily create enough cooking energy to steam vegetables, rice, etc. and even bake cakes, potatoes and roast meats.
It is not difficult to build an efficient solar oven from just scrap boxes, paper and aluminum foil. Also, ready-to-use high-quality solar ovens are available. You take them out of the box and you can start immediately.
Cooking with free solar heat saves energy, but it also lowers your electric bills in another way. By not cooking indoors and adding extra heat and humidity to the room, your electric costs for air-conditioning are lower. A solar oven manufacturer told me a woman reduced her electric bills by $40 per month by cooking with solar.
I have used a Tulsi-Hybrid solar oven for the past three years, and it works great. I just unlatch the top and tilt it up. It has a mirror on the other side to reflect more of the sun's heat into the oven. A double-pane glass top over the black insulated oven chamber traps the heated air inside similar to a greenhouse.
This is a hybrid model with electric backup heat for cloudy days. It comes with four stainless steel covered cooking pans with special black solar-absorbing painted tops and bottoms. It generally takes about 90 minutes to steam brown rice as compared with 60 minutes on the stovetop.
Most of the complete ready-to-use solar ovens are designed to collapse into an easy-to-handle unit. This makes them ideal for camping or storage. Extra reflector sides can be attached when they are open to provide additional solar heat. This is handy for emergencies if you have to rapidly boil and sterilize drinking water.
If you would like to build your own solar oven with your children, there are many plans available online. One of the simplest designs uses a large and a small cardboard box. Put the small box in the large one.
For insulation, fill the gap between the boxes with crumpled newspaper. Cover it with a clear plastic top and face it directly toward the sun. For more heat, wrap aluminum foil over stiff cardboard and position it to reflect more heat into the box. Put a cooking thermometer inside the oven to monitor how hot it is getting.

(via. freep.com)

Pacific Gas deal will nearly double USA's solar power

Another proof of falling solar costs - A US based utility company will buy 800 megawatts of solar-generated electricity as they commented the price of solar has come to a point they feel comfortable doing it.


Pacific Gas deal will nearly double USA's solar power
By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY

Electric utilities are warming to solar power in a shift that promises to turbocharge a technology that has been hindered by high prices and slow consumer adoption.
Pacific Gas and Electric (PCG) in California announced last week it will buy 800 megawatts of solar-generated electricity from two companies, enough to light 239,000 homes. Within three years, PG&E will buy its solar energy from OptiSolar and SunPower, which plan to build the world's two largest solar farms in California as part of the deal.
It would nearly double the USA's entire solar-panel capacity. Driving the trend are solar's falling costs and state alternative-energy mandates.
Solar power has grown but still makes up well under 1% of U.S. power generation. More than 90% of solar panels have been installed on rooftops by maverick consumers and businesses. Utilities' embrace of solar energy will help push it to about 10% of power generation by 2025, predicts Ron Pernick, principal of research firm Clean Edge.
"Just a handful of utilities doing something big changes the scale of the entire market," says Julia Hamm of the Solar Electric Power Association.
Solar power typically has cost about twice as much as electricity from fossil-fuel-fired plants. But PG&E Vice President Fong Wan says prices in last week's deal approach electricity from natural-gas-fired plants. "The cost has come down to a point where we're comfortable doing it," he says.
Prices for solar-generated electricity have been falling, thanks largely to increasing manufacturing capacity and technological improvements, SunPower's Julie Blunden says. Other recent deals:
•Building farms. Florida Power & Light and Sempra Generation, a power wholesaler, each plan to build solar farms of up to 25 megawatts in Florida and Nevada, respectively.
•Purchasing power. CPS Energy in San Antonio, Duke Energy in North Carolina and Florida Municipal Power Agency say they'll buy solar power from suppliers willing to invest in new generation. That avoids upfront construction costs for utilities.
•Installing panels. Utilities are putting panels that feed into the grid on neighborhood roofs. That sidesteps the need for costly transmission lines. Southern California Edison last week began placing panels on 100 warehouses in the Los Angeles area. Duke Energy, Long Island Power Authority and Portland General Electric in Oregon plan similar initiatives.
With costs for traditional power plants rising and solar falling, "We see a convergence coming," Duke executive Owen Smith says.

(via. USAtoday)

Green Corporation

Another green news of mega corporation.

Energy Efficiency Saves Dell $3M
By GreenBiz Staff, GreenBiz
Published August 7, 2008

ROUND ROCK, Texas -- Dell's three-tiered plan to neutralize its carbon footprint has reached its goal five months early and saved the company $3 million, Dell said Wednesday.
"It's a piece of our overall strategy and one we're pretty excited about," Dane Parker, Dell's director of environmental, health and safety, told GreenBiz.com.
The company announced last year its goal of becoming carbon neutral by late 2008. Since then, it focused on reducing energy consumption and buying renewable energy before offsetting the remaining emissions.
Overall, Dell lowered total energy demand by about 5 percent through efficiency projects such as lighting upgrades, HVAC retrofits, tweaking building temperature settings and shutting off computers not being used.
Most projects had a payback period of three years or less, Parker said. As the company moves beyond the low-hanging fruit, it is considering projects with longer ROIs, such as equipment upgrades for building controls. Dell's data centers, accounting for about 20 percent of its global power use, represent another opportunity for energy savings.
The company currently buys enough renewable energy to comprise 20 percent of its worldwide portfolio, the majority of it wind power. In the U.S., green power purchases meet a third of its demand. Dell now buys roughly 116 million kWh each year, compared to 12 million kWh in 2004.
Although the company met its goal early, it will continue looking for ways to weave additional efficiencies into its operations, Parker said. In addition to electronics waste efforts and more efficient products, Dell plans to reduce and reuse 99 percent of its waste by 2012.
"We're at 95 percent now," Parker said. "The last 4 percent doesn't sound like a lot but it's the hardest part."

(via. ClimateBiz)

JCPenny is installing their solar systems and wind turbines for 200 stores by year 2011.

JCPenney Adds Solar and Wind Power to Its Green Program
By GreenerBuildings Staff, GreenerBuildings
Published August 15, 2008

PLANO, Texas -- J.C. Penney Company is advancing its environmental program by hosting solar power systems and a wind turbine and by setting a goal of attaining Energy Star status at 200 or more stores by 2011.
SunPower Corporation of San Jose, Calif., will install solar power systems on the rooftops of 10 JCPenney stores. Four are in California in the cities of El Cajon, Palmdale, Redlands and Santa Clarita. Six are in New Jersey in Cherry Hill, Deptford, East Brunswick, Freehold, Wayne and Woodbridge. The systems will be financed, owned and operated by a third-party financier, from which JCPenney will purchase the solar-generated electricity under a SunPower Access power purchase agreement.
Broadstar Wind Systems, based in Dallas, Texas, will provide the technology for a hosting arrangement that will bring a Broadstar building-mounted AeroCam wind turbine system to JCPenney's 1.6 million-square-foot distribution center in Reno, Nev. JCPenney will purchase electricity generated by the system from Broadstar...

read the whole story here

(via. GreenBiz)

Move Business Forward

More and more businesses go GREEN now and treat it simply as their "overall optimization strategy":

Green Manufacturing Can Help 'Move Business Forward'
By GreenBiz Staff
Published August 15, 2008

LONDON, UK -- Manufacturers increasingly see green initiatives as a way to move business forward through cost savings, improved efficiency and reputation boost, according to a new survey.
Eyefortransport (EFT) turned to 300 North American executives overseeing manufacturing, operations and supply chains to gauge adoption and perception of green efforts. The results showed a majority see the price barrier to green manufacturing shrinking and a view that environmentally friendly practices can be successfully combined with traditional business practices.
"When asked how they view green manufacturing initiatives, 84 percent told us that they see them as part of an overall optimization strategy," said Katharine O'Reilly, EFT's senior vice president of environmental research. "This marks a major sea change, and implies that environmental programs are becoming part of the standard arsenal of strategies employed to boost innovation and optimize operations."
Ninety-five percent of respondents in the "Green Manufacturing: Adoption & Implementation 2008" said green manufacturing will increase and expand. Two-thirds believe in the existence of markets for greener, more expensive products. Leading drivers toward greener operations include the contribution to sustainability strategies, response to consumer interest and improving reputation.
Forty-three percent said eco-initiatives improved their bottom lines through better product quality and increased efficiency. Most -- 65 percent -- turned to recycling and reuse programs, followed by water reduction programs (58 percent), continuous improvement (54 percent) and energy management (50 percent).

(via. GreenBiz)

All Solar!

Everything goes solar now!

Greencore's Solar-Powered Air Conditioner (Finally!)
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 08.11.08



Is any Technology more Overdue than Solar-Powered Air Conditioning?
We've been writing for many years about how solar-powered air conditioning is a big "duh!", and should be used more widely. After all, it's when you have lots of sun that you need A/C the most, and anything that helps smooth out peak demand on the electrical grid can help delay the construction of new polluting power plants.

Greencore's Solar A/C System
The Greencore 10200 comes in two models: a fixed one, and a mobile version (which can be had with 2 or 4 batteries). Using a single 170-watt solar panel, it can keep a 600 square-foot room cool. One of the good design decisions was to make it run on DC current, so no AC inverter is needed and conversion losses are avoided.

We're not quite sure what they're doing here, but it looks cool.

The Greencore solar A/C system is actually a hybrid; when the sun isn't shining, it can use power form the grid, during off-peak hours, to charge its batteries. This is the kind of load shifting that can save money and smooth out demand.

You can see some specs here (pdf).
Two high-profile clients of Greencore are McDonald's and the US Navy. Both of them are testing solar air conditioner units.

It can be used for modular classrooms and construction trailers.

Solar Air Conditioning

SolCool: A Solar Air Conditioner
Solar Powered Air Conditioning Just Makes Sense
Small-Scale Solar Powered Air Conditioning Is Here (in Spain, Anyways)
Solar-Powered Air Conditioner About To Be Released

More on Greencore Solar Air Conditioner

Greencore Website
Solar Powered Air Conditioner Released

Sustainability = Critical Business Strategy

Going green makes financial sense for businesses:

'The Dollars and Sense of Green Retrofits'
By GreenerBuildings Staff
Published August 1, 2008

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Companies that pass up a chance to green their existing commercial buildings may never recover from the losses resulting from greater operating costs, lower productivity, negative brand image and declining attractiveness to workers, according to a recent study.The study called “The Dollars and Sense of Green Retrofits” was co-authored by green real estate authority and consultant Charles Lockwood and Deloitte.It was based on a survey of organizations or companies whose existing buildings underwent a green retrofitting. Participants were asked what motivated them to consider the projects and what influenced their decisions.
Findings concluded that while savings from energy efficiency was a top goal, as cited by 75 percent of respondents, corporate environmental commitment was the leading motive. Another 75 percent of respondents reported improvement in employee health. One hundred percent of respondents experienced an increase in goodwill/brand equity."The value of green retrofitting helps demonstrate that sustainability is rapidly becoming a critical business strategy," said Chris Park, leader of Deloitte’s Enterprise.

(via. Greenerbuildings)

How to green your electricity?

Jacob Hugger of TreeHugger gives us some tips on daily energy saving:




What’s the Big Deal?

The cost of electricity is going up (both in dollars and in environmental and health impacts) and it doesn’t show any signs of doing otherwise. About half of the energy in the American grid is coal generated. We won’t bore you with what you already know: coal is a really stinky, dangerous, nasty, unsustainable, and silly way to make power. By using less energy, and greening the electricity that we do use, we can lighten our footprint immensely. The subject of electricity and its environmental impacts is a massive one and we can’t cover every corner of it here. We hope that this brief guide can offer some solid suggestions for greening your electricity and use thereof...






Read more here



(via. TreeHugger)