While at Solar Power International in Dallas last month I had the chance to stop by and speak with SANYO’s North America Corporation Solar & Smart Energy Division. The PV solar manufacturer shared news of their partnering with PV Trackers and BrightGrid, as well as their battery system.
Launching its initial solar products in the 1970s, SANYO’s history of product development has led to a hybrid-type solar cell, called a HIT (heterojunction with intrinsic thin-layer) that offers high power generation, even in extreme temperatures. The company says they are one of the only manufacturers to make a bifacial solar panel, called HIT Double, which is able to convert energy from light on the top and bottom sides of the panel. SANYO says the high level efficiency of their solar panels is due to the combination of single crystalline silicon and amorphous silicon to create a hybrid technology that provides independently-certified cell conversion efficiencies of 20.2%, module efficiencies of 17.8% in its most recent 225-W panels.
Sanyo has combined their panels with PV Trackers, which manufactures a ground-mounted system that moves the modules so they are always facing the sun. The manufacturer says PV Trackers’ 7.2DX Dual-Axis Tracking System, when combined with HIT solar panels, results in a highly efficient system and increases MWh production by about 40-50% compared to a fixed-rack system. Sanyo says this partnership will help them enter the utility-scale solar market, as the system is suitable for large commercial and utility-scale installations. The San Benito Smart Park LLC will be installing the first utility-scale system in Hollister, CA using 7,488 SANYO Solar Panels with the PV Trackers Dual-Axis Tracking System. Construction will finish in the first quarter of 2012 and interconnect to the grid shortly thereafter.
Also, to help homeowners with financing their solar systems, SANYO has teamed up with BrightGrid Solar to offer various programs that will offer payment options. “We’re offering two ways to save on our system,” said Charles Hanasaki, president of the Solar & Smart Energy Division. “First is financing. With the solar lease program, homeowners can afford to have the system installed and can start saving on electricity in the first month. The other way to save is due to the high power of the SANYO HIT panels, because our panels maximize roof availability so fewer are needed.”
With BrightGrid’s solar lease program, homeowners lease the panels rather than buy the system so they can benefit from solar energy without the significant upfront costs. Consumers can submit an online application via a secure server operated by BrightGrid and if qualified receive same-day credit approval to make it easy for the installer as well as the homeowner. In addition, the companies say the solar lease offers other benefits such monitoring, maintenance, and insurance. Inverter repairs and replacement panels are covered under the terms of the lease. Currently, the program is available in select states: California, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, and Hawaii and is expected to roll out in additional states over the coming months.
The company also displayed its energy storage battery system, which uses 1.6-kWh modules, each with 312 18650 lithium-ion cylindrical cells (the same cell used in laptop computers and automobiles). The modules are scalable to make a 1.6-kWh system or a 1-MWh system operate as one single, giant battery to provide support for renewable energy sources, provide emergency power backup supply, and to help shift peak demand from the daytime high to help utilities manage the distribution network.
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