Japan firm develops 'sun-chasing' solar panels

From: http://www.physorg.com/

Takashi Tomita, a Tokyo University professor and researcher for Japanese electronics giant Sharp, displays an innovative solar power panel using moving mirrors that follow the sun throughout the day, at a preview in Tokyo, on June 3.

A new Japanese solar power device can generate twice the electricity of current models thanks to moving mirrors that follow the sun throughout the day, according to its developers.

 

Smart Solar International, a Tokyo start-up that also has an office in California, will start producing the system in Japan in August, hoping it will be adopted in tsunami-hit areas along the northern Pacific coast.
Sample sales are set to begin in October, with overseas sales targeting especially Asia and the Middle East set for 2014 or earlier.

The device features a row of aluminum mirror bars that can slowly rotate as the sun moves across the sky and reflect its light back onto a central tube that is packed with high-performance, multi-layered solar cells.
Its inventors say the system requires far less silicon -- the most expensive component, which is imported mostly from China at the moment -- than the conventional larger flat photovoltaic cell panels.

The tube has a system to prevent overheating, which reduces the efficiency of power generation, and the excess heat can be used to heat water.

"You can get both electricity and heat from the same device," said Takashi Tomita, a former Sharp Corp. executive who heads the spin-off from the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology.

Demand for renewable energy is set to grow in Japan since the March 11 quake and tsunami crippled a nuclear power plant on the northeast coast, causing the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl 25 years ago.
The centre-left government has announced a major energy policy review that would promote solar and other alternative energies.

"We must send our product to the (disaster) regions first," said Tomita, also a professor at the University of Tokyo's research centre.

"I want to ship this as early as possible to convenience stores and to other facilities where people congregate."
In coming years, Tomita hopes to sell the system abroad.

"Southeast Asia needs a source of energy as demand keeps growing," Tomita said, pointing out that countries including Vietnam and Thailand do not have much oil and gas, unlike Indonesia or Brunei.
The company also aims for sales in India and the Middle East.

Next week Smart Solar plans to exhibit a parabolic mirror version of the system at the Intersolar trade fair in Munich, Germany.
(c) 2011 AFP

Walmart Adding Thin-Film Solar Panels On 20-30 More Stores

From: http://www.treehugger.com/

photo: Walmart

In continued efforts to deploy more renewable energy at its stores, Walmart announced today that it will be installing solar panels at an additional 20-30 of its stores in California and Arizona, opting at most of the locations to install thin-film solar panels rather than traditional crystalline panels.

Rather than owning the panels outright, Walmart has contracted with SolarCity, which will design, install, maintain and actually own the solar power systems, with Walmart benefitting from the total estimated 22.5 million kWh of electricity produced. At each location the panels are expected to provide 20-30% of the total energy needs of the store.

Currently, Walmart has 31 solar power installations at locations in California and Hawaii.

In its press release, Walmart touted the benefits of thin-film panels over traditional ones:

Thin film solar panels look similar to the traditional crystalline panels, but require fewer raw materials to manufacture, resulting in a smaller environmental impact over its life cycle. The Walmart projects are using both copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and cadmium telluride thin film. The company's large scale on-site installation of CIGS could help further the development of this technology and bring it to market quicker, while use of cadmium telluride thin film could help make the case for other businesses to adopt the technology for on-site commercial use.

Buying Power Not Panels Can Reduce Risks
One thing to note: Walmart has been expanding renewable energy usage at its stores for a while now, so the announcement itself, while good, isn't entirely groundbreaking. What is worth paying attention to as a green trend, applicable to homeowners as well as businesses, is that even with it's huge size Walmart chose to have a third-party operate the solar power system, thereby eliminating some of the financial and technical risk of adding solar power, while still benefitting both practically and from a public-image perspective from using renewable energy.

Solar Forest Keeps Cars Cool And Juiced

by Jerry James Stone, San Francisco, CA

Photo by Burb.tv

Designer Neville Mars has designed a charging station that keeps your car both cool and charged.

Called the Solar Forest, the panels actually follow the sun throughout the day for maximum efficiency. And that canopy provides some much needed shade for the cars below, hopefully while keeping the overlap to a minimum.

The tree trunks are like a giant power strips for electric vehicles. Cars can just plug in and cool off.

Photo by Burb.tv

Photo by Burb.tv

Photo by Burb.tv

Source: Inhabitat

8th Grader Builds Solar-Powered Bike With GPS, iPod Dock

Written by Jerry James Stone

Eighth-grader David S. Dixon–along with his dad David G. Dixon–has built a street-legal quadricycle powered by a solar-charged electric motor. The bike not only carries his dog and three friends, but it has also has an iPod dock and GPS. Ya, it’s that cool!

Coined as the Solar Human Hybrid (SOHH), the vehicle was launched as part of David Jr.’s middle school project for the Novato Charter School.

David Jr. told Gas2.org that “I watched my dad install solar panels at home, I have had an interest in them ever since. I have had electric remote controlled cars, boats and helicopters that I would always take apart - and usually getting them back together with some kind of improvement.” David Sr. confirmed that “even his pinewood derby car in cub scouts back when he was 8 or 9 had LED taillights and headlights and ended up getting exhibited at the Marin County Fair.”

The vehicle’s Scott 24-volt motor provides 1 horsepower and it has a top speed of 14 mph. First geared to 18 mph, but it was then re-geared to provide enough torque for making steeper hills.

The SOHH uses GreenSaver Silicone Gel Cell batteries. The batteries, iPod, and GPS are all fed by 20-watt solar panels. They used a small motor as to keep pedal-power the priority for the bike. By doing so, the battery remained light-weight and the solar panels a reasonable size.

The base vehicle used, and the priciest part of the project, was a Switzerland-built ZEM (Zero Emission Machine) 4cycle. It’s made out of an aluminum frame and each rider can pedal at their own pace. In fact, the 4cycle took 3rd place at the human powered vehicle world championships at Interlaken, Switzerland.

And while the ZEM 4cycle is no longer produced, they got one from a dealer in Maryland who purchased the last 3 from the US distributor. It cost them $3,900.

“[The SOHH] has replaced our cars for errands around town, and it has grown into more than we envisioned with a lot of interest from the community,” David Dixon Sr. told Wired.com.

And for the win, they documented the project on their website with all parts and schematics so that anyone can build one. They don’t plan to mass produce the vehicle but would love it if someone else does. Though David Sr. did express an interest in updating the bike with a lighter battery “such as lithium polymer, but no budget for it yet.”

Of course, we’d love to see that too. But I had to ask if the dog actually rides in the SOHH.

David Sr. told us “Not really, but she [Mimzy] would rather come along than be left behind.”

Source: Wired.com and The SOHH Project