solar power

Toshiba enters domestic solar power market

March 2nd

Toshiba Corp., in collaboration with SunPowerCorp (US), will be selling monocrystal Silicon-type solar energy crystal modules for residential solar battery systems from 1 April 2010. Toshiba said that it decided to start the residential solar battery system to help promote their all-electric or smart-grid businesses. In the future, Toshiba plans to sell its solar battery systems with second-generation Li-ion batteries (SCiB) combined with “smart meters”. The residential solar battery systems that Toshiba plans to sell will have solar battery modules, power conditioners (power conversion efficiency of 94%), and color monitors, all supplied by out-sourced suppliers.

JPEA's 26th Solar Power Generation Systems Symposium

November 11th

Low-carbon steel-producing companies have joined a growing international trend of implementing and assisting the establishment of a system to regulate the buying and selling of surplus solar power from residential power generation systems, and establishing a domestic market to develop this on a large scale in Japan.

This is the 26th Symposium of the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA), and it will provide a complete picture of the current and future state of solar power generation in Japan, as well as the present state of technical development, and business and government policy related to solar power.

Green is good (in Japan)

August 10th

Whatever the merits or otherwise of the practical implementations of Japanese environmental awareness (e.g. my local neighborhood's definition of "burnable" trash, which includes plastic that produces noxious fumes when incinerated), anything with "eco" in its name or description immediately has a stronger sales position than anything without. Witness the "eco-point" system, whereby anyone trading in their old "clunker" air-conditioner, fridge or TV for a new "eco" model would collect "eco points". Sales of such items shot up and people happily collected their "eco points".

Sekisui Home Ltd, sets goal for 10,000 solar-powered homes in 10 years.

July 14th

In an interview in the Yomiuri Newspaper, Sekisui House, Ltd.’s President and CEO, Isami Wada, today announced that the 2010 target of residential homes equipped with the solar power generating systems has reached 10,000 homes in 2008 – about five times higher than the original 2010 goal.

In order to reduce green house gas emissions, the Japanese government has set assistance for residential homes, promoting the installation and use of solar power and fuel cell systems.

Solar panels shine in Japanese homes, schools

July 10th

Japan's house-building industry is going "green". Eco-friendly features on houses are definite selling points, and the growth in residences equipped with solar panels shows this.

New law doubles “Buy-Back” rates for surplus residential solar power.

July 9th

The “Energy supply provision law”, a bill to oblige electric power companies to purchase surplus solar energy produced by private residences at twice the market rate, has been recently approved by the Upper House of the Japanese Diet and became law on the first of the month. The Japanese Government is establishing the new system this year, having set specific provisions overseeing the implementation procedures. With the popularization and spread of solar power, the cost of buying surplus power from businesses and private homes has been raised.

Combined Solar energy & Thermal Co-Generation System in development

July 3rd

Yanmar is launching a project to develop a next-generation combined solar energy/thermal Co-generation system. Yanmar believes this system will be suited for industries and businesses faced with reduced production and increasing energy costs in the current weak economy, and expects to see a return on their initial investments in about 10 years. Yanmar is projecting about 3 trillion yen (approx. $300 million) in sales by 2012.

China to become Solar leader within 3 years

June 20th

The Chinese government is backing solar power in a big way. China intends to have $10 billion in private funds raised and spent on solar in the next 3 years, making it a market leader.

China is serious about finding alternatives to fossil fuels.

Although China supplies half the world's solar panels, it contributes very little to demand as the cost of tapping solar energy to generate electricity remains steep and investors find little economic sense in pursuing solar projects in China where incentives are few.

But that's about to change.

Asian Telcos Going Green

February 16th

Asian telcos, in an effort to reduce costs, are placing greater emphasis on green IT this year, according to Ovum's senior analyst of telco operations Sally Banks. "Estimates suggest that telecom operators can achieve a 1- to 2 percent reduction in global carbon emissions by implementing green initiatives within their operations.

"…(T)he telecommunications industry is expected to enable other businesses to reduce emissions by up to five times this amount," she said, adding that improving brand perception is an additional benefit for telcos to go green.