Industry News

Sharp to Launch Solar Ad Campaign for California Homeowners

Sharp Electronics Corp. launched last month an advertising campaign targeting California homeowners who are seeking ways to reduce energy consumption while supporting clean air and renewable energies. Sharp is running a series of ads designed to educate consumers on solar energy basics in the Orange County Register, San Francisco Chronicle, San Diego Union-Tribune, Sacramento Bee and San Jose Mercury News, as well as Parade, California Home & Design Magazine, San Diego Magazine and San Jose Magazine.

In addition, the campaign invites consumers to call for a solar evaluation and consultation with a Sharp-certified dealer. The campaign continues through June.

Sun Power Installs Solar Energy System at Berkeley Montessori School

Sun Power & Geothermal Energy, Inc. recently announced the completion of a 7.8-kilowatt solar energy laboratory for the new "green" Elementary-Middle School campus of the Berkeley Montessori School, Berkeley, Calif. Sun Power also delivered a solar curriculum for Berkeley Montessori School instructors to use in the school’s environmental education programming.

Sun Power installed four arrays of photovoltaic panels at the school that face the sun at three different angles. The arrays will be separately monitored so science students can compare the power generated by each array according to its orientation to the sun. The electronic monitor readout will be delivered to a computer in the science classroom. Students will be able to track daily and seasonal solar energy production based on the movement of the sun across the sky from winter to summer.

The Berkeley Montessori School (BMS) Elementary-Middle School Campus serves 270 children ages 3 to 14, and has an Early Childhood Campus at a separate location. The K-8 solar curriculum, developed by Sun Power and approved by the California Department of Education, includes elements of chemistry, math, astronomy, meteorology and geography. The curriculum also provides interactive lab projects such as Building a Solar Oven and Building a Solar Water Heater.

Sun Power installed 74 Kyocera KC-125G PV modules at the Elementary-Middle School Campus, and four SMA 2.5 kW Sunny Boy inverters, one for each array. Sun Power installed an SMA Sunny Boy Plus monitor to track solar electric energy production in real time.

In addition to the photovoltaic system, the BMS Elementary-Middle School Campus features in-floor hydronic radiant heating, passive ventilation, exterior sun control devices, natural daylighting, a light-sensitive dimming system that dims when enough natural light is in the room, point-of-use hot water, and recycled/sustainable building materials including sustainably-harvested bamboo flooring and recycled glass counters.

The campus is located on the site of the historic Santa Fe Railway Berkeley Depot, a registered landmark. Two new wings were designed by Pfau Architecture Ltd. to accompany the remodeled depot, including the West Building where the solar system is located.

RWE Schott Installs PV Systems at Four San Diego County Facilities

RWE SCHOTT Solar Inc. (RSS), a manufacturer and distributor of solar modules and systems, has announced that four County of San Diego facilities are now powered in part by the sun, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions as well as energy consumption and expense for the county. Combined, the recently installed energy-producing photovoltaic (PV) systems are expected to produce nearly 500,000 kWhs of energy per year, enough electricity to power more than 60 average homes on an annual basis.

"Given the many energy-related issues and challenges that we and other counties have faced in recent years, the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors is committed to improving energy independence, containing energy costs and contributing to the long-term welfare of the environment," said John J. McTighe, director of the Department of General Services, County of San Diego. "By strategically distributing our initial implementation of PV systems throughout the county, we have an outstanding opportunity to collect valuable data to help us better understand how renewable energy from the sun can benefit all who reside and work here."

RSS installed two 45 kW, free-standing SunRoof FS PV systems, one at an operations center in Kearny Mesa and the other at the County of San Diego Library in El Cajon. In addition, a 100kW system was installed at the county's South Bay Regional Center in Chula Vista with another 100 kW system going in at the North County Regional Center in Vista. In all cases, the PV arrays sit above the roof without any roof-penetrating mounting racks or inserts.

APS to Construct Solar Trough Power Plant in Arizona

APS, Arizona's largest utility, broke ground last month on Arizona’s first commercial solar trough power plant and the first such facility constructed in the United States since 1988. Located at the company’s Saguaro Power Plant in Red Rock, about 30 miles north of Tucson, the APS Saguaro Solar Trough Generating Station will have a 1-megawatt (MW) generating capacity, enough to provide for the energy needs of approximately 200 average-size homes. The plant is expected to come online in April 2005.

Solar-trough technology uses parabolic mirrors to concentrate the sun’s rays to heat mineral oil between 250 and 550 degrees. The fluid is then passed through a heat exchanger to vaporize a liquid. The vapor is used to spin a turbine, making electricity, and then is condensed back into a liquid before being vaporized once again.

Historically, the significant capital cost associated with solar trough technology did not lend itself to smaller applications. However, APS’ solar trough system will combine the relatively low cost of parabolic solar trough thermal technology with the commercially available, smaller turbines usually associated with low-temperature geothermal generation plants.

In addition to generating electricity for APS’ customers, the solar trough plant will help APS meet the goals of the Arizona Corporation Commission’s Environmental Portfolio Standard, which requires APS to generate 1.1 percent of its energy through renewable sources—60 percent through solar—by 2007.

Xantrex Receives Canadian Environmental Award

Xantrex Technology Inc. has received one of Canada's most high-profile national environmental awards, the GLOBE 2004 Corporate Award for Technical Innovation. Introduced in 2002, the GLOBE Awards for Environmental Excellence recognize Canadian companies that have commendable sustainable business strategies.

The Globe Technical Innovation Award is given to companies that have demonstrated outstanding technical ingenuity in developing and applying innovative technologies to solve pressing environmental problems and substantially reduce environmental impacts. Xantrex is a producer of advanced power electronics products for the renewable energy industry. Its products convert, manage and control power generated by renewable and advanced energy sources, such as solar, wind, fuel cells, micro-turbines and flywheels, into "green power" electricity that can be used for industrial, utility, home and business applications.

R.W. Beck and SSP to Build OTEC Plant in Caribbean by 2007

Management consulting and engineering firm R.W. Beck and Sea Solar Power (SSP) International recently announced that they intend to build a 10-megawatt ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plant on a Caribbean island by 2007.

OTEC plants use the temperature difference between the warm surface of the ocean and the colder ocean depths to produce power, and can also produce desalinated water as a byproduct. DOE research in OTEC technology resulted in a 50-kilowatt OTEC plant in Hawaii in the early 1990s.

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