Industry News

SunPower Completes NASA Dryden Center Solar Installation

NASA and SunPower Corp. recently completed the installation of a 5-kilowatt solar electric power system at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, located at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The system is the first to incorporate SunPower's 20 percent efficient A-300 solar cells. The SunPower system at NASA Dryden will provide clean electricity while helping to educate visitors about renewable energy.

Unlike conventional solar cells, SunPower's A-300 incorporates all electrical contacts on the back surface. This architecture allows for significantly higher conversion efficiency of light to electricity, and also eliminates unsightly reflective front-side contacts. With rated efficiency over 20 percent, the A-300 can deliver up to 50 percent more energy from a given roof area compared with traditional solar products, according to SunPower.

SunPower, a subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corp, has a history of collaboration with NASA. NASA used SunPower solar cells in its Helios solar-powered aircraft, which set an altitude record of 96,863 feet in 2001. For additional information, visit www.sunpowercorp.com.

Solar-Powered Grandstand to Be Built at Britain's Great Leighs Racecourse

The proposed Great Leighs racecourse, which is slated to become Britain's first new track in 75 years, recently received a $515,996 grant from Britain's Department of Trade and Industry to install solar panels on the glass canopy of the grandstand. In addition, rainwater collected from the roof will be used for water flushing and track irrigation, and energy-efficient lighting will be installed.

Great Leighs's grant is part of a $3.1-million effort by the Department of Trade and Industry to help households, pubic buildings, community projects and commercial ventures convert to solar power. BP Solar has been selected to install the panels on the grandstand.

PG&E/SF Environment Give Away Free Lights at Holiday Light Exchange

As part of a $16 million program to reduce peak energy usage by 16 megawatts in San Francisco by 2005, PG&E and SF Environment gave away free energy-efficient LED holiday lights for working strings of old incandescent lights. Held in December, the Holiday Light Exchange allowed residents to trade up to two working strands of incandescent holiday lights for the energy-efficient LED technology lights at no cost. A total of 8,000 energy-efficient LED strands were given away on a first-come, first-served basis. All San Francisco residents were allowed two LED strands per household.

Depending on the number of hours of use, these new lights can pay for themselves in one season. Manufacturers of the new LED holiday lights also claim they will burn brightly in excess of 100,000 hours. For more information on the San Francisco Peak Energy Program (SFPEP), a joint energy efficiency pilot project with PG&E and SF Environment, visit www.pge.com/sfpep.

City of Fresno to Install Solar Panels at Municipal Service Center

The city of Fresno, Calif., recently announced it plans to install solar panels on several canopies at its Municipal Service Center. One of the largest solar projects of its kind on the West Coast, the installation will provide nearly all the electricity for hundreds of city workers during the summer months.

To be installed by Berkeley-based PowerLight Corp., the project will cost $4.125 million and is anticipated to be up by April. The city also will make the buildings more energy efficient by installing new lights and improving the heating and air-conditioning units for $600,000.

The city plans to receive a $2.062 million rebate as soon as the solar panels are installed. It is estimated that the system will save $4.6 million over 25 years, the panels' expected lifetime.

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