Solar Energy Archive

  • Solar industry creating jobs, not just juice

    Solar industry creating jobs, not just juice

    Posted on April 21, 2010 | No Comments
    It appears that there may be a recession proof industry after all. The Solar Energies Industry Association just released their annual report, and while coal and oil are "suffering", solar is a growth industry.

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  • Thin, flexible “solar threads” to turn fabrics into power generators

    Thin, flexible “solar threads” to turn fabrics into power generators

    Posted on March 1, 2010 | No Comments
    A Tokyo-based venture called ideal Star [JP] has developed a new method that makes it possible to produce solar cells in the form of flexible and thin threads. The company is supported by a total of six Japanese universities and the government. The current prototype cell is 5cm long and just 0.8mm in diameter. ideal Star says the core consists of polymer material and is surrounded by an electrode layer, and layers for hole transport, power-generating (this layer is made from fullerene), electron transport and another (transparent) electrode layer.

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  • Sharp to bring solar-powered cell phone to China (and possibly elsewhere, too)

    Sharp to bring solar-powered cell phone to China (and possibly elsewhere, too)

    Posted on January 27, 2010 | No Comments
    Sharp, the biggest (in terms of market share) of all eight major Japanese cell phone makers, has been talking about internationalizing its phone business for quite some time now. It makes sense, as the domestic market is shrinking and as Sharp only sold 20% of all their cell phones outside Japan (1.6 million units) last fiscal.

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  • Panasonic ready to pump $1.1 billion into solar energy business

    Panasonic ready to pump $1.1 billion into solar energy business

    Posted on January 13, 2010 | No Comments
    There's a reason why Panasonic paid $4.4 billion in this economic downturn to acquire former rival Sanyo, and the reason is that Panasonic wants to go as "green" as possible in the future. Sanyo isn't only the world's leading maker of lithium ion batteries, but also the (now former) company behind the eneloop brand, which consists of a range of eco-friendly solar products. But buying Sanyo wasn't enough for Panasonic's solar ambitions, as the company says it's now ready to invest another $1.1 billion by fiscal 2015 in its solar business segment. By that time, Panasonic aims at being among the world's top three solar cell makers. The company wants to reach the top spot among Japanese makers as early as 2012.

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  • Sharp develops efficient solar cells for use in outer space

    Sharp develops efficient solar cells for use in outer space

    Posted on December 23, 2009 | No Comments
    Earlier this year, we reported twice about Japan's serious plans to go to outer space to generate solar energy and then beam it back to Mother Earth. And today, Sharp has shown the first solar cell that's not only bendable (we've seen that before) but that also withstands conditions in space. In addition, the company says those cells boast a record-high solar efficiency of 36%.

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  • Sanyo develops solar cell that’s thinner than hair

    Sanyo develops solar cell that’s thinner than hair

    Posted on November 26, 2009 | No Comments
    Sanyo is in the news today, and again it's about the company's green tech power. The company today announced [JP] it will do everything to become Japan's top player in the domestic solar industry by 2012 and eventually one of the top three solar companies on a global level. At the same time, the Nikkei reports [registration required, paid subscription] that Sanyo has succeeded in developing a solar cell that's thinner than a human hair.

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  • Sharp to release world’s most efficient solar cell

    Sharp to release world’s most efficient solar cell

    Posted on October 22, 2009 | No Comments
    Sharp Japan announced today it has developed a solar cell with the world's highest conversion efficiency [press release in English]. The new product features an conversion efficiency of 35.8%, while Sharp only achieved 31.5% with the previous model. The latest model is a compound solar cell, in which two or more elements form photo-absorption layers (see the graphic below).

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  • Japanese company sells carports with solar panel roofs

    Japanese company sells carports with solar panel roofs

    Posted on September 16, 2009 | No Comments
    Solar energy is being used in a number of applications already, but carports are something new. Japan-based Sankyo Tateyama Aluminium has begun selling carports [JP] with solar power generation systems installed on their tops. The main idea is to attract both customers who aren't able to install solar panels in their homes and those who need to boost the amount of solar energy in their houses.

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  • They now use solar technology to propel satellites

    They now use solar technology to propel satellites

    Posted on September 11, 2009 | No Comments
    Japan is getting more active in the solar energy field in recent months, and now, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has revealed a plan under which solar photons will be used to propel satellites in outer space [JP, PDF]. The aim is to make satellites in general more energy-efficient.

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  • Sanyo’s portable solar panel makes solar energy useful for gadget freaks

    Sanyo’s portable solar panel makes solar energy useful for gadget freaks

    Posted on August 5, 2009 | No Comments
    Sanyo added a few new products to its successful eneloop brand of "green" electronics today [JP], i.e. a hand warmer, a battery-powered and extra-warm blanket and a neck warmer. The coolest new product is the eneloop portable solar, a portable solar panel that's sized at 174(W)×204(H)×26(D)mm.

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