Check out the full article here;
http://gas2.org/2012/06/25/honda-installs-all-the-solar-panels/
Showing posts with label Honda Solar Panels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Honda Solar Panels. Show all posts
Honda Installs All The Solar Panels
Check out the full article here;
http://gas2.org/2012/06/25/honda-installs-all-the-solar-panels/
Honda And BMW Installing Solar Panels At Auto Facilities
Honda and BMW are among the latest auto manufacturers to begin incorporating on-site solar electricity generation at some of their facilities. Honda has been installing solar power generation systems at its operations in various locations around Japan, so far reaching a combined capacity of 3.3 megawatts.
Among the installations is a recently commissioned 9 kilowatt- solar power system at a Honda Cars Tokyo Chuo dealership. The installation marks the beginning of an initiative that will see over a hundred dealerships have similar solar panel arrays installed by March of 2014. The solar panels used are the company's own product - Honda Soltec CIGS thin-film solar cells. Honda Soltec is the company's solar component production and sales subsidiary.
Additionally, Honda says it will install a 2.6-megawatt Honda Soltec system at its new Yorii Plant, which the company says will be the largest solar power generation system installed at an automobile production facility in Japan.
BMW has also seen the light, having recently completed installing 400 solar modules, each with a 240 watt capacity, at BMW's Manufacturing's heritage museum and visitor's center situated alongside its South Carolina plant. The $500,000 solar power system provides all the electricity required to run the Zentrum Museum and will also be powering three new electric vehicle charging stations throughout the main facility.
"Adding a new, alternative energy platform to our energy portfolio is another step in our commitment to sustainable methods of generating power at our factory," said Duncan Seaman, Department Manager, Market Operations USA & Canada.
Mr. Seaman says the array complements BMW Manufacturing's existing landfill gas-to-energy and hydrogen fuel cell program, which offsets the fossil fuel requirements otherwise needed to run its facility.
Other auto manufacturers to harness solar energy to power some of their operations include Volkswagen, Renault, Ford and Toyota.
Source;
http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3032
Honda drives toward home solar hydrogen refueling
* Hydrogen car FCX Clarity to go to market around 2018
* Carmaker touts solar-powered home refueling option
* 48 solar panels for 10,000 miles per year
By Mary Milliken
TORRANCE, California, March 12 (Reuters) - Coming not so soon and probably not to a house near you is the home solar hydrogen refueling station -- Honda Motor Co's (7267.T) latest idea in its drive to make hydrogen the fuel of choice for zero emission cars.
The Japanese auto giant believes hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles offer the best long-term alternative to fossil fuels and the company showed on Friday a refueling breakthrough that it says points to a home version down the road.
Most major automakers have spent billions of dollars in researching hydrogen-powered fuel cells, tempted by the idea of a car that uses no gasoline and emits only water vapor. But Honda is widely seen as the hydrogen leader, while others like General Motors GM.UL put more effort into battery-powered electric vehicles like the upcoming Volt.
One of the big barriers to hydrogen car deployment is the lack of refueling infrastructure, leading Honda to bet that the future lies in combining a public station network with a more modest home option.
Honda's home option will comprise a solar-powered hydrogen refueling station using solar panels.
"Customers can choose how they interact with both of them based on their annual miles and their habits," said Stephen Ellis, fuel cell manager at the Honda's North American headquarters in Torrance, California.
'BIGGEST PROGRESS'
"The key thing to remember is that with five-minute refueling you are good for another 240 miles," Ellis added.
That range comes from the "fast-fill" public station, of which there are just a handful in Southern California, where Honda leases 15 FCX Clarity hydrogen-powered vehicles and is set to distribute more in coming months.
Eight hours of home solar refueling would guarantee a smaller range of 30 miles (50 km) or about 10,000 miles (16,000 km per year -- enough for an average commuting car.
At the Los Angeles R&D center, engineers refueled the sleek FCX Clarity sedan with a new single-unit station connected to a solar array that replaces a two-unit system, cutting costs and improving efficiency by 25 percent.
"This is wonderful progress, the biggest progress," said Ikuya Yamashita, the chief engineer of the station.
The station uses a 6-kilowatt solar array, composed of 48 panels and thin film solar cells developed by a Honda subsidiary. It breaks down the water into hydrogen in what Honda calls a "virtually carbon-free energy cycle."
The FCX Clarity's hydrogen "stack" -- or the electricity generator -- is around the size of an attache case, tucked between the two front seats, and is a fifth of the stack size developed a decade ago.
The car is likely to be sold commercially around 2018 in the luxury large sedan category, while the solar hydrogen refueling system could move beyond the research stage and into the market-ready phase around 2015.
"A lot of this work is not necessarily for today's economic situation," said Ellis. "This is for tomorrow, when most people feel energy prices will be higher."
(Additional reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Gary Hill)
Source;
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1212479020100313?type=marketsNews
* Carmaker touts solar-powered home refueling option* 48 solar panels for 10,000 miles per year
By Mary Milliken
TORRANCE, California, March 12 (Reuters) - Coming not so soon and probably not to a house near you is the home solar hydrogen refueling station -- Honda Motor Co's (7267.T) latest idea in its drive to make hydrogen the fuel of choice for zero emission cars.
The Japanese auto giant believes hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles offer the best long-term alternative to fossil fuels and the company showed on Friday a refueling breakthrough that it says points to a home version down the road.
Most major automakers have spent billions of dollars in researching hydrogen-powered fuel cells, tempted by the idea of a car that uses no gasoline and emits only water vapor. But Honda is widely seen as the hydrogen leader, while others like General Motors GM.UL put more effort into battery-powered electric vehicles like the upcoming Volt.
One of the big barriers to hydrogen car deployment is the lack of refueling infrastructure, leading Honda to bet that the future lies in combining a public station network with a more modest home option.
Honda's home option will comprise a solar-powered hydrogen refueling station using solar panels.
"Customers can choose how they interact with both of them based on their annual miles and their habits," said Stephen Ellis, fuel cell manager at the Honda's North American headquarters in Torrance, California.
'BIGGEST PROGRESS'
"The key thing to remember is that with five-minute refueling you are good for another 240 miles," Ellis added.
That range comes from the "fast-fill" public station, of which there are just a handful in Southern California, where Honda leases 15 FCX Clarity hydrogen-powered vehicles and is set to distribute more in coming months.
Eight hours of home solar refueling would guarantee a smaller range of 30 miles (50 km) or about 10,000 miles (16,000 km per year -- enough for an average commuting car.
At the Los Angeles R&D center, engineers refueled the sleek FCX Clarity sedan with a new single-unit station connected to a solar array that replaces a two-unit system, cutting costs and improving efficiency by 25 percent.
"This is wonderful progress, the biggest progress," said Ikuya Yamashita, the chief engineer of the station.
The station uses a 6-kilowatt solar array, composed of 48 panels and thin film solar cells developed by a Honda subsidiary. It breaks down the water into hydrogen in what Honda calls a "virtually carbon-free energy cycle."
The FCX Clarity's hydrogen "stack" -- or the electricity generator -- is around the size of an attache case, tucked between the two front seats, and is a fifth of the stack size developed a decade ago.
The car is likely to be sold commercially around 2018 in the luxury large sedan category, while the solar hydrogen refueling system could move beyond the research stage and into the market-ready phase around 2015.
"A lot of this work is not necessarily for today's economic situation," said Ellis. "This is for tomorrow, when most people feel energy prices will be higher."
(Additional reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Gary Hill)
Source;
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1212479020100313?type=marketsNews
Honda Soltec Begins Sales of Thin-Film Solar Cells for Public and Industrial Use
Japan, October 23, 2008– Honda's wholly-owned solar cell subsidiary Honda Soltec Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto; President and CEO: Akio Kazusa) will begin sales throughout Japan of thin-film solar cells for public and industrial use on October 24, 2008. Having sold solar cells for home use since October 2007, Honda intends to expand its customer base by manufacturing and selling solar cells capable of the high-capacity electrical generation required by public and industrial facilities.Using a thin film of copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS) to convert solar energy into electricity, the Honda-developed cells are environmentally responsible both in their manufacturing process and in use. With increased awareness of environmental issues, Honda is seeing growth in demand not only for private- but also public- and industrial-use solar cells and continues to strengthen its business foundation by expanding product line.
In addition, Honda's extensive experience in large-scale solar cell installations has prepared the company for the expansion of the product line to public and industrial uses. The following are examples of completed projects:
Honda Cars Automobile Dealership
A 9 kW solar cell system was installed as part of the upgrading and reopening of the Honda Cars Mito, Katsuta North automobile dealership in Ibaraki Prefecture. The system powers the showroom and office of the facility.
For the rest of the News Release;
http://world.honda.com/news/2008/c081023Thin-Film-Solar-Cells/
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