SANYO HIT Panels Installed for Largest California Solar Initiative System in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif., March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SANYO North America Corporation (SANYO) announces that Long Beach City College has opened a new parking structure on campus whereupon the college has installed over 400-kilowatts of SANYO's HIT Power® solar panels. A special grand opening of the 900-car parking lot was held today at the college. The new system was installed to fully-power security lights, elevators, four emergency phones on each level as well as fire protection systems. Excess power being generated by the SANYO panels will be used by adjacent buildings on campus.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110329/LA73465)

"The reason we chose SANYO panels was because they produce more energy per square foot and Long Beach City College wanted to install as much solar as possible on this structure," said Daniel Sullivan of Sullivan Solar Power who designed and installed the system. "We worked closely with McCarthy Building Company and know the system will meet the needs of the college."

Long Beach City College installed 2,100 SANYO HIT Power® 215N panels that offer a cell efficiency of 19.3% and a module efficiency of 17.1%. The system is the second largest system in the City of Long Beach, and is the largest to date for California Solar Initiative systems in Long Beach. The solar system is expected to produce approximately 59,000 kW hours a month, which should offset approximately 9% of adjacent buildings' overall electricity needs. The system is expected to also dramatically reduce the total annual electric bill while considering the environment, reducing CO2 emissions by almost 18.4 million pounds (approx. 9,200 tons) over the warranty period on the panels.

"We wanted to maximize the energy generated, and the SANYO panels came highly recommended. With the installed solar system, we have been able to turn an ordinary parking garage into an extraordinary solar power plant, accomplishing both a reduction of our carbon footprint and our electricity bill at one time," said Tim Wootton, Director of Facilities at Long Beach City College.

To raise awareness of the benefits of the system, the college has also installed a special information kiosk on the adjacent campus parkway to show energy levels being produced by the garage-top panels. Classes also benefit as the Electrical Technology department will be able to use the data as part of their coursework. The parking structure also features a parking space availability monitor, powered by the panels, that alerts students to open spaces on each level.

"The amount of CO2 being reduced by this project and the actions of Long Beach City College should be recognized," said Charles Hanasaki, President of the Solar & Smart Energy Division of SANYO North America Corp. "SANYO panels not only reduce carbon footprint, but they take less footprint to install with the same or better power production as other traditional panels."

About LBCCD

The Long Beach Community College District is a single college district with two campuses and an enrollment of over 30,000 students each year. The education program's primary purpose is to prepare students for transfer to baccalaureate-granting institutions, entry into work or career development and to support business in economic development. Long Beach City College serves the cities of Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill and Avalon.  

About Sullivan Solar Power

Sullivan Solar Power is a turnkey solar system provider that delivers solar electric projects from concept to completion. The company has installed over 5,000,000 watts of solar power ranging from small-scale residential to large-scale commercial and municipal systems. Sullivan Solar Power is locally based out of San Diego, CA and owned and operated by Daniel Sullivan. The firm is San Diego's local turnkey solar provider and services all of Southern California. Visit sullivansolarpower.com for more information.

About HIT Power®

HIT® stands for Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer.  HIT® solar cells employ a proprietary technology developed by SANYO whereby hybrid solar cells composed of single crystalline silicon wafers are surrounded by ultra-thin amorphous silicon layers. The unique structure minimizes defects within the p/n junction of the cell, producing highly efficient cells capable of achieving up to 17.4% module efficiency while producing more power even at higher temperatures.

About SANYO

SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. is a global leading company providing solutions for energy, environment and lifestyle applications. The Energy System Solutions Division of SANYO North America Corporation, a subsidiary of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., is headquartered in San Jose, California, and handles sales and services for photovoltaic and Smart Energy Systems. For further information, please visit SANYO's web site at http://us.SANYO.com.

© 2011 SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. SANYO and HIT are registered trademarks of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.

SOURCE SANYO North America Corporation