GS Battery (USA) Inc., Chosen as Supplier for Advanced Battery Technology at Albuquerque's Mesa del Sol

ROSWELL, Ga., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- GS Battery (USA) Inc., has been selected to participate in a test site for advanced battery technology used for solar power applications being conducted by a partnership between Mesa del Sol, GS Battery (USA) Inc. – a subsidiary and member of GS Yuasa Group of Japan – and Sandia National Laboratories, under a $75,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The test will be conducted at the Aperture Center at Mesa del Sol located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Mesa del Sol developed the Aperture Center in 2007 as a LEED Silver building, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and was designed by noted architect Antoine Predock.

The successful future of solar power in the U.S. depends on the utilization of new technologies in battery power to create a constant power source from the solar panels. Constant power from renewable energy, such as solar and wind power can be interrupted by weather conditions.  GS Battery's technology has the promise of storing the energy for use during these down times and thus can allow significant strides in the use of renewable energy in power systems.  GS Battery's cutting edge battery technology promises to allow great leaps forward for the solar industry in the U.S. by giving constant power and longer operating battery life with affordability to renewable forms of energy in the future.

"This technology has already been proven in Japan, and this test is a major step forward for advanced battery technology in this country," said Yasuyuki Nakamura, President of GS Battery (USA) Inc. "We are a recognized industry leader in batteries, power supply systems and specialty electrical equipment and we are committed to technological innovation in the energy and environmental fields and we are continually making modifications and improvements to our R&D, manufacturing, and distribution systems, ensuring that they have a global focus."

GS Battery (USA) Inc. will install an energy power controller and its ECO R® battery storage system to capture the solar energy from the solar panels at Mesa del Sol and feed it back into the system for use during evening and other times when solar power has been interrupted by weather conditions.  Testing by GS Yuasa Group in Japan at companies and residential homes has shown that the new battery technology gets up to 4,000 "deep discharge cycles" from the ECO R® batteries, as opposed to 1,000-1,500 cycles from current batteries available in the U.S.

"The success of solar power rests on creating a constant energy supply that's affordable, and the testing at Mesa del Sol can demonstrate over the next few years that both constant power and longer operating battery life are open to all commercial buildings in the U.S.," said Michael Daly, President of Mesa del Sol. "This could change everything for renewable forms of energy."

Mesa del Sol currently utilizes 17 Kw of photovoltaic solar panels at the Aperture Center creating a solar energy source for the commercial building.  Sandia National Laboratories will monitor and track data from the testing over the next three years to determine the viability of the power system for U.S. commercial buildings.

"This system will level out the peaks and valleys of solar power," said Chris Anderson, Vice President of Development of Mesa del Sol. "We should double our capacity for using solar power after this system is installed and operating. The new energy power system could give us 100% utilization of our PV system."

"We believe Energy Storage is the key to making renewable energy cost effective, and we are excited to test our advanced technology batteries and solar inverters in the USA Market," said Jay Northey, General Manager of GS Battery (USA) Inc. "We are pleased to partner with Sandia National Laboratories and Mesa del Sol to demonstrate how this technology can transform solar power for commercial buildings, and this test site supports our mission to enter the renewable energy market utilizing our global expertise and proven technology."

GS Battery (USA) Inc. is the American subsidiary of GS Yuasa International, Ltd. of Japan, the world leader in motorcycle and small standby storage batteries, which serves the power sports, telecommunications, UPS, and the emergency lighting markets. GS Battery (USA) Inc. recently entered the renewable energy photovoltaic and storage market in North America. GS Battery's headquarters' in Roswell, Georgia, is the home of the first commercial solar installation with batteries in the state of Georgia. For more information call 1-800-GSBATRY or visit http://www.gsbattery.com.

GS Yuasa Corporation is based in Japan and specializes in the manufacture and supply of batteries, power supply systems, lighting equipment, and specialty electrical equipment. In order to a offer products and services that best meet the needs of our customers around the world, we are continually making modifications and improvements to our R&D, manufacturing, and distribution systems, ensuring that they have a global focus.

As technological innovation in the energy and environmental fields accelerates, new values are required to find for the storage battery industry. These sorts of demands serve to motivate us, GS Yuasa Group. We're advancing further ahead into a new world.

Our corporate slogan is "Next to you", and this is where we seek to be as we work towards meeting the needs of the modern world.

We give 100% to making your life richer, to turning your dreams into reality, and to helping build a common future for everyone.  

Mesa del Sol is a 12,900-acre mixed-use district located on Albuquerque's south mesa. By combining job creation and sustainable urban community planning, Mesa del Sol will reflect a balance of environmental resources, economic objectives and social amenities in a community that is forward-looking with a highly defined sense of place.

Mesa del Sol is a true public/private partnership. In addition to Forest City Covington, NM, LLC, Mesa del Sol is being developed in conjunction with other partners, including the New Mexico State Land Office, the University of New Mexico, with the support of the City of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County and the State of New Mexico.  Learn more at www.mesadelsolnm.com.

About Sandia National Laboratories is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness.  Learn more at www.sandia.gov.

SOURCE GS Battery (USA) Inc.