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lighting the way

Sharp’s leading-edge sys- Sakamoto, the Coast tems are used in homes and businesses all over Guard official, jok- the planet today. But one of their earliest uses was ingly chides his former off-shore, in an historic lighthouse and lighted co-worker for being buoys. soft. “We had to carry gas canisters, which For sailors, a lighthouse can mean the difference weighed 220 pounds between safe passage to a harbor and a wreck on each!” he says — and a rocky shoal. In an island country like Japan, the lighthouse needed with more than 18,000 miles of coastline and an between 20 and 30 } Making solar history: economy dependent on shipping, lighted navi- canisters every year. a sun-fueled buoy gational beacons are literally a lifeline. All that changed in 1966, when Sharp installed That’s why it has been so critical for the Japan photovoltaic (PV) panels on the lighthouse in Coast Guard to ensure the reliability of thousands what was then the largest solar energy system in Sharp’s of lighted buoys, channel markers and light- the world: a 225 watt system that would eventu- houses. In the 19th century and well into the 20th, ally make Ogami sun-sufficient. lighthouse keepers in Japan traditionally used oil and gas to keep their guiding flames lit—and if First-Generation Challenges those flames went out for any reason, ships could Those first-generation PV panels had some chal- be endangered. Even after the development of lenges to overcome: the extreme weather and Solar electricity-powered light bulbs that could show huge temperature swings caused cracks, and the captains the way, floating buoys and lighthouses salt air corroded the wiring. Shigehiro Naka- located on islands and remote promontories nishi, who joined the company’s fledgling solar couldn’t benefit from the new technology. Instead, division in the 1960s, worked with the Coast many lighthouses had to be resupplied monthly Guard, tweaking the technology to make it bet- Solutions with cumbersome acetylene gas canisters and ter. If they could make the panels work in a harsh heavy batteries; the buoys required constantly re- marine environment, he reasoned, almost any- by Daniel Glick freshed energy sources, too. thing else would seem easy—and Nakanishi, like his employer, was committed to solar’s long-term, A Better Way big-picture potential. “Powering the lighthouses The sun has always been the star } Guiding sailors Retired Coast Guard official Tetsuro Sakamoto was like powering the country,” he says. to safety: Ogami dedicated much of his career to finding a better of our solar system. π Lighthouse, a solar- powered beacon way. In the early 1960s, “we were looking for al- All their efforts paid off: eventually, PV worked ternatives to oil and gas,” he says, when Sharp ap- so well, “we wanted to put solar panels every- proached the Coast Guard with an idea for using where,” Tetsuro Sakamoto says. Today, most Throughout human history, scores of cultures, dreamed of producing power to run them. He called the “We were their new solar cells to light buoys. Japan’s first Japanese lighthouses are solar-powered: in fact, from ancient Egyptians and Greeks to sun-worshipping solar battery the “next big technological breakthrough solar-powered buoy was installed in 1963 in busy the last full-time lighthouse keepers left their Yokohama Bay. lonely jobs a few years ago. All across Japan sun- Aztecs, have revered it, worshipped it, even deified it. But after television” and launched his firm toward making elec- looking for alternatives to light is supplying power to the beacons that keep the sun’s powers have also been put to work—and not just tricity from the sun. Sharp and the Japan Coast Guard then set their ocean-going vessels and their crews safe. recently, but for nearly three millennia. As early as the 7th oil and gas.” sights on a lighthouse located on Ogami Island century B.C., mankind was making fire by concentrating Today, in an era of climate change and dwindling fossil fuel —Retired Coast Guard official off the coast of Nagasaki Prefecture in southern That was just a first step in Sharp’s solar revo- sunlight through glass. In the 1700s, humans made solar supplies, the development of reliable, affordable, renewable Tetsuro Sakamoto Japan. Ogami, a key navigational point on a ship- lution. “It’s like a dream come true,” says Sharp ovens to cook food. And a century or so later, French physi- energy is essential—and solar is a prime candidate. Scientists ping channel transporting goods back and forth engineer Nakanishi. “Solar can power not just cist A. E. Becquerel discovered the phenomenon behind calculate that enough sunlight hits the Earth each hour to between Japan, China and Southeast Asia, relied lighthouses but also the world.” making electricity from the sun, called . supply the world’s electricity needs for an entire year. In the on battery power or gas to keep its lights blinking following pages, hear how Sharp’s half-century of pioneering throughout the fog-shrouded nights. Shigehiro And indeed, using solar to power communities Then in 1959 a Japanese businessman took a step toward solar innovations and its vision for the future are helping us Nakanishi, a Sharp engineer who was just start- all over the planet was a big part of Sharp’s solar turning that phenomenon into a working reality. Sharp to realize humanity’s ancient dream and modern hope: to ing his career with the company in 1964, recalls progress—read about it on the next page. having to scramble up a 100-foot hill every month founder , whose company made radios, harness the unfathomable power of the 15,000,000°c star to the lighthouse, to help carry a dozen 88-pound Meeting the world’s needs P appliances and other electricity-dependent products, also we call our sun. batteries. “That was a lot of work,” he recalls.

Photo of Ogami Lighthouse courtesy of Japan Coast Guard Special Advertising Section Special Advertising Section

ing about the villagers’ lives. He report. Increasingly, installations corporate-responsibility award—supplied 10 asked each household the same are a perfect solution, offering a chance to solar electrical systems to New Orleans’s 9th question: How would they use leapfrog traditional centralized grid systems Ward, hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, to help the new solar electrical system fed by coal-fired power plants or other gen- bridge the energy gap until the city’s electric- that Sharp was engineering for erating stations. Distributed-energy systems ity infrastructure could be rebuilt. them (in a joint project of the like these can take many forms, from rooftop Mongolian government and the solar installations to small-scale energy sys- Making a Difference Japanese government’s New En- tems producing a few kilowatts each. In Mongolia, the first big step in creating ergy and Industrial Technology a new power infrastructure was to set up a Development Organization)? Sharp and its engineers have been a driving weather station to determine how many pan- force in bringing such systems to remote, off- els would be necessary. Next, after nearly a On the villagers’ wish list were the-grid communities all over the globe. In year of gathering weather data and assessing a host of things many of us take central Thailand, for example, Sharp engi- electricity needs, Hirofumi Mitsuoka, work- for granted. Daytime electric- neer Nobuyuki Morioka and his team helped ing with other Sharp engineers, designed five ity to run the hospital was key, to create a solar installation similar to the one different solar panel energy systems for a 200 as was upgrading the telecom- in Noyon, working side by side with locals in kW system: for the hospital, the telecommu- munications building. If the chil- nications center, the town offices, the school dren could do their computer and the power-generating center. If these work during school hours, then “People were really were tied to the existing rudimentary grid Noyon, Mongolia families would have more time in need.” that linked to most of the houses, he figured, together in the evenings. Villag- most of the villagers’ needs could be met. ers also wanted to be able to do —Sharp engineer Hirofumi Mitsuoka simple things, like making cop- Mitsuoka arranged for a shipment of solar ies or washing clothes during panels and organized an 11-truck caravan the day, running their refrigera- the middle of a humid rainforest—and eat- to bring them to Noyon. From Ulan Bator it Powering the Powerless tors continuously, watching TV ing with them too, gamely sampling regional took a full week to drive the 700 kilometers for more than one hour a night staples like snakes, frogs and lizards. (“The to the village, with nomads offering directions From early on, Sharp has reached out sel generators that generally ran only a couple and making their morning tea without hav- frog was okay, but I didn’t like the snake,” along the way. One day at high noon, shortly to those who need power the most, creating of hours each evening, due to the high cost ing to build a fire from scarce wood or ani- he recalls.) The result of all that toil: A 100 after the system was set up, Mitsuoka joined solar systems that meet their specific needs. of fuel. That meant that hospital procedures, mal droppings. A group of five women even kilowatt (kW) system that served the village the villagers to start it—and saw the glee on even emergency surgery, could only happen at wondered if there would be enough power of Den Mai Sung, as well as providing power their faces when they could turn on their lights When Sharp engineer Hirofumi Mitsuoka night. Children couldn’t learn on computers for them to start a bakery (the uncertainty of to two other nearby villages. with a flip of a switch. When Sharp solar sys- arrived in the remote Mongolian village of during the school day. And a slew of tasks and the power supply meant that village bread tem engineer Momoki Watanabe, who also Noyon in 2002—after a grueling, 30-hour activities—from washing laundry to watch- was not always fresh). “People were really in Sharp has also delivered solar-fed electric- worked on the project, received a report from drive from the capital city of Ulan Bator, fol- ing TV—could only be done during a small need,” Mitsuoka said. ity to places where circumstances make it Mitsuoka about this remarkable moment in lowing caravan tracks and at times navigating window of time after nightfall. Mitsuoka was impossible to install traditional centralized Noyon’s history—and the culmination of all by the stars—virtually the entire population about to change all that, forever. Meeting Global Needs grid power, such as Antarctica and Tibet. their hard work—he accurately observed } Dependable means medical of 500 turned out to greet the man who was Globally, that need is huge. More than 1.6 And it has reached out to communities that that for the villagers, “it really was the differ- procedures can happen any time (top); household chores are easier, too (middle); teaching children about to light up their lives, literally. Noyon, Mitsuoka visited every house, drinking end- billion people—almost one quarter of the have had their power knocked out by natu- ence between day and night.” But the Noyon computer skills (bottom) set on the north edge of the Gobi Desert, had a less glasses of tea and cups of fermented world’s population—have little or no elec- ral disasters, as well. The company’s SOLA project, which was completed in 2004, will sporadic system of electricity, powered by die- mare’s milk, dining on goat meat—and learn- tricity, according to a 2005 United Nations in NOLA project—winner of a prestigious likely have an even bigger impact: because the man set up a building-supply center, milling system has to function in searing 35°C sum- lumber with an electric saw; another started a mer days and -30°C winter nights, its success car-repair shop. A restaurant opened, provid- } Empowering a village: Noyon’s solar energy system means that other remote and challenging loca- ing a meeting place for villagers and people tions can also look to the sun for power. around the region. And the five women who wanted to open a bakery? Mitsuoka says they Generating a New Economy did just that. “The bread,” he says with a satis- In the years that followed, the ready availabil- fied grin, “was delicious.” ity of power generated new economic activity in the village and the region. Dr. Namjil Ene- In fact, as you’ll read next, Sharp’s advanced bish, executive director of Mongolia’s National solar technologies have played a major role Renewable Energy Center, says the installa- in radically—and profitably—transforming tion brought about “revolutionary changes” in businesses all over the world. the lives of people in Noyon, and “it had a very impressive impact on this small, remote vil- Business’s solar gains P lage.” Several villagers began businesses: one Special Advertising Section Special Advertising Section

} Sun farmer Frank Groneberg at Solarpark Rodenäs in Germany (left); Far Niente winery’s Larry Maguire and his son, Michael (center); Clarum Home’s John Suppes and one of Clarum’s sun-powered abodes (right) at least a couple acres of panels to power the the installation “was one of the most wonder- the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leader- winery. Giving up that much land in Napa ful moments,” he says. “In some small way, ship in Energy and Environmental Design Valley—where an acre of vineyard growing we had done something that was helping to (LEED) Green Building Rating System. solar-DRIVEN innovation Cabernet Sauvignon grapes can cost upwards save the world.” of $200,000—was a tough call. For Suppes, installing PV systems on new Thanks to Sharp’s highly adaptable and Groneberg decided to take advantage of and rich soil create one of the world’s most fa- The Solar Builder homes makes perfect economic and environ- energy systems, businesses and other orga- them. He built Solarpark Rodenäs, planting mous winemaking regions. For Larry Magu- But the winery had an irrigation pond that A mother-son connection forged yet another mental sense. If the price of the installation is nizations around the world are getting wise two fields with more than 700 Sharp photo- ire, president and CEO of Far Niente winery, covered about an acre—and one of Maguire’s solar innovator. Green builder John Suppes built into a standard mortgage, the electricity to the power of solar: it’s not just good for the voltaic panels. “Sharp was our first choice,” the sun also created an opportunity for him partners wondered if there was a way to uti- recalls learning about solar building when savings more than compensate for the addi- Earth, it’s good for the bottom line, too. says Groneberg. “They treated us like part- and his partners to help preserve the planet lize it. Maguire was introduced to a company he was just five years old. His mother, a Har- tional cost. “It’s a no-brainer,” says Suppes, ners from the beginning, responding to our for the next generation—and for Maguire to that had built a prototype system to float a vard-trained architect, used to drive young who recalls one homebuyer showing off his Remember those -powered calcula- questions and ideas in a way that was always grow closer to his son. John around in $9 electricity bill with great pride. “Solar is tors? In 1976, when Sharp introduced them, helpful and pleasant. Sharp’s service has been the 1960s, telling going to be the future.” the idea of powering an electronic gizmo with exemplary. We’re truly satisfied.” A few years back, Maguire treated himself to “solar is going to be the future.” him how silly it was that architects A New Energy Economy the sun’s rays seemed far-fetched. Today, in- a luxury sedan—one that got about 20 miles —John Suppes, president, Clarum Homes genious and cost-effective energy systems are Discovering that the solar panels were most to the gallon. Far from being impressed, his missed out on op- In many cases, the future has already been in- providing solar gains for individuals, busi- efficient when the sea breezes cooled them, teenage son, Michael, called his father out, portunities to use stalled. The city of Denver in Colorado chris- nesses and cities all over the planet. And each Groneberg installed a tracking system that saying, “You’re worse than the ignorant. You the sun’s power— tened a seven-and-a-half-acre PV system last has its own, distinctive solar story. allowed him to get more than 12 hours of know better, yet you’ve chosen inaction.” He PV panel, Thompson Technology Industries, to create passive solar heat, for instance, by summer at the Denver International Airport solar gain each day during the peak summer hit a nerve—Maguire did know better, at along with its sister firm, SPG Solar, that could building homes with plenty of south-facing (DIA)—one dramatic step toward building a The Sun Farmer months. “I make one hun- install it. The result? Floatovoltaics®—994 windows. new energy economy. The system, which uses Frank Groneberg’s path to solar farming be- dred times more money as a Sharp panels that sit on floating pontoons, Sharp panels, is expected to generate more gan with some piglets that needed to be kept sun farmer than as a wheat looking more like a floating sculpture garden Today, as president of Clarum Homes, Suppes than three million kW hours of electricity warm, some seed-eating geese and a German farmer,” he says. than a solar power plant. On an adjacent acre has moved his company into the vanguard of every year and power the United States’ fifth- law that encouraged renewable energy. For of less productive land, Far Niente installed energy-efficient building. “Forty percent of busiest airport for decades to come. decades, Groneberg grew wheat and raised His neighbors quickly fol- another 1,302 panels. Today, just one year lat- energy use in the U.S. is from heating and pigs on the farm that his father and grand- lowed his example. Today, er, 100 percent of the winery’s electricity needs cooling buildings,” he says. Since installing his The DIA energy system is one of the most father had worked, set two miles from the virtually every nearby house are met by solar, with power to spare. first solar PV system in 1998, Suppes has put visible PV installations in the world—far Danish border along the North Sea coast in and farm building has PV PV panels on hundreds of houses—including more massive than Frank Groneberg’s solar northern Germany. Then one year he in- panels on its roof. In fact, four Far Niente picked Sharp for a host of reasons. those in the new Hansen Lane Estates sub- farm, Larry Maguire’s Floatovoltaic®-fed stalled solar thermal panels (which heat water of the top six teams honored “This is an important investment that needs division in Danville, California. In this leafy winery and John Suppes’s sun-fueled housing rather than producing electricity), using them by Germany’s Solarbundesli- to last at least 25 years,” says Maguire. “The suburb near San Francisco, Suppes has built development. But all of them share one thing: to power a radiant-floor heating system that ga—a kind of national solar Sharp 208 panel we chose is tried and true, 10 homes equipped with Sharp photovoltaic a powerful spirit of innovation, along with a kept the piglets warm—and cut his fuel bill energy championship league proven to be robust, and manufactured by a panels. “Sharp’s on the cutting-edge—they’re drive to fully realize solar’s promise. significantly. that scores individual towns } The innovative Floatovoltaic® system at Far Niente winery company with a great reputation that is sure the leader,” says Suppes. “And their panels owning the largest solar to be around for a long time.” are very reliable. I’ve tried other companies In 2010 Sharp will help to make that promise In the meantime, geese were literally eating installations per capita—are from the area least when it came to his business: he’d long in the past—and Sharp’s the most consistent a reality with a sun-fueled power plant in the profits from his wheat crop: every time around Rodenäs. “Everybody can be an en- dreamed of running Far Niente, a historic Far Niente didn’t receive the same govern- and dependable for the money.” The panels, Japan—a quantum leap into the future, de- he planted seeds, the geese feasted. It was ergy producer,” Groneberg says. winery founded in 1885, more sustainably. ment support that Germany provided to along with other green features—including tailed in the following pages. time to think of something else. The Ger- Michael’s comment spurred him to action. Frank Groneberg, but it did earn rebates, tax solar thermal for hot water, as well as high- man government was providing incentives The Sustainable Vintner Maguire and his staff started investigating credits and attractive financing. And it earned efficiency appliances—have earned the devel- Solar's next giant step P to anybody who produced renewable energy, In California’s Napa Valley, the plentiful sun photovoltaic systems and found they’d need Maguire the respect of his son. Showing him opment the coveted Gold Certification from

Photos clockwise from top left: Bert Bostelmann/Getty Images. All others Don Feria/Getty Images Special Advertising Section Special Advertising Section

} Photos left to right: Solar in space holds great promise; at the CIS Tower in Manchester, England, over 7,200 Sharp solar modules generate 183,000 kW a year; in Mainz, Germany, the Bruchwegstadion is powered by solar; artist’s rendering of the municipal hall in Suzuka City, Japan, on a sunny day, with thin-film solar panels on the roof; exterior view of Suzuka City’s municipal hall; in Austria, solar power is part of Salzburg Airport’s emphasis on environmental management (the airport has been awarded an ISO 14001 certificate) future vision sakai & solar’s global promise

What’s next for solar technology, and in many nations—becoming more obvi- for humankind is how to reduce carbon diox- for Sharp? A new, sprawling industrial ous, but their health impacts are looming ide emissions,” says Saga. “We must construct complex on the oceanfront of Sakai in Japan’s ever larger: according to the Earth Policy a more sustainable society for the future.” Osaka Prefecture holds the answer. Institute, they contribute to tens of thousands of asthma attacks, heart attacks and deaths That’s why Sharp has been developing so- The state-of-the-art solar and LCD panel each year in the U.S. alone. A host of coun- lar since 1959, mass-producing the first solar plant in Sakai City promises to manufac- tries—Japan, China, Germany, Spain, the cells in 1963 and following them up with ture the future. A bright one. The plant, U.K., the Netherlands, the U.S. and many ever-larger, thinner, more efficient and less scheduled to begin solar production in 2010, others—have created various incentives for expensive PV energy systems, as well as with embodies 50 years of solar research and de- companies or individuals to install sun-pow- more innovative ways to use them. Sixteen velopment by Sharp. When it opens the huge ered systems. And new solar technologies are miles west of Sakai at Sharp’s manufacturing } The Sharp plant in Sakai, Japan, will have the capacity to produce up to a gigawatt of thin-film solar panels each year manufacturing complex will mass-produce coming on line just in time to provide an es- plant in Katsuragi City—which has a produc- revolutionary thin-film solar cells, as well as sential alternative to fossil fuels. tion capacity of 550 megawatts of crystalline installation, how much room is available for the world. The emphasis on ensuring energy ing electric-appliance manufacturers in the LCD panels. The facility’s roof will also be PV cells each year, as well as 160 megawatts panels and the system’s energy production efficiency and creating manufacturing facili- world. Hayakawa challenged his employees a solar-generating system, producing a maxi- Creating a Sustainable Society of thin-film cells—a solar-powered fountain requirements. In our drive to tap the sun’s ties for all stages of production will help keep to “make products that other companies want mum of 18 megawatts of electricity to help “We all feel an urgent need to develop an and an intriguing installation of experimental power and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, costs down. Katsuhiko Nomoto, Sharp’s solar to imitate.” His firm has done just that when fuel manufacturing. effective alternative energy source,” says Tat- photovoltaic panels greet visitors. On a nearby crystalline panels continue to play a major systems group division general manager, be- it comes to solar technology. suo Saga, Sharp’s solar systems development rooftop, an electricity-producing solar labora- role—and will do so for years to come. lieves that increases in efficiency will soon The Sakai plant’s launch won’t come a mo- group executive technical research fellow. tory includes different kinds of PV energy mean that solar power will be as inexpensive The fireball that is our planet’s star sends an ment too soon. Governments are recognizing With atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rising, systems, with sensors tracking the efficiency as electricity powered by fossil fuels. almost unfathomable amount of energy to that the need for renewable energy has become along with global awareness of the impacts of various orientations throughout the day. “One day we want to Earth, even from 91 million miles away. Har- acute. Not only are the climate-change impacts of climate change, cost-effective, renewable be able to produce Sakai represents another piece of Sharp’s nessing that power has not been as easy as of traditional coal-fired power plants—which power solutions have become the energy sec- A Giant Step for Solar the electricity Total Value Chain, whose goal is to provide burning coal, but the world stands poised to produce the lion’s share of energy consumed tor’s holy grail. “One of the great challenges The Sakai plant represents a critical next step solar services around the world, from manu- enter a new era where solar power is cheaper, toward energy sustainability, in terms of both consumed by our facturing to installation training and service. more environmentally sustainable and more } Sharp founder Tokuji Hayakawa (right) testing a crystal radio set (1925) energy yield and cost. Projections indicate the products.” In addition, Sakai is one of several new Sharp effective than any fossil fuel could ever be. plant will produce up to a gigawatt of thin- manufacturing facilities coming on line or With the Sakai plant, Sharp continues to en- film solar panels annually. Thin-film panels —Sharp founder Tokuji Hayakawa under construction all over the globe—part of sure that founder Hayakawa’s vision—that use a fraction of the amount of silicone that the company’s effort to provide what Nomoto “one day we want to be able to produce the crystalline panels do, so they can be made less calls “local production for local consump- electricity consumed by our products”—will expensively. In addition, thin-film technology Beyond that, there are many new frontiers tion.” Sharp global manufacturing facilities become a reality. is at the heart of many new solar applications, for solar to explore, including the vast reaches for crystalline modules now include those in like building-integrated PV panels (BIPV), of our solar system: Tetsuo Saga believes that Memphis, Tennessee, in the U.S. and Wrex- Stay tuned at Sharp-solar.com P which promise architectural sleekness along space-based solar stations will one day be capa- ham, Wales, in the U.K.; another facility will with extraordinary functionality at a reduced ble of generating massive amounts of energy come on line in Italy in 2012. cost, compared to standard crystalline panels. and beaming it down to Earth. Daniel Glick writes about energy, the environment and a host of other topics for numerous publications. Thin-film technologies are seen as the next A Founder’s Vision He’s the co-founder of The Story Group, which taps wave, and a powerful one. Global & Local Value That will coincide with Sharp’s 100th an- new and traditional media to cover climate change, At Sakai Sharp has focused on every part of niversary, marking a century since a young the environment, international development, the However, crystalline panels remain the tech- the manufacturing process, creating a verti- Tokyo metalworker apprentice named Tokuji global economy and many other issues. Glick is also the author of two books, the most recent of which is nology of choice for a large number of appli- cal integration of the facility that will likely Hayakawa founded the company that would Monkey Dancing: A Father, Two Kids, and a Journey cations—depending on the latitude of the become a case study for companies around become one of the largest and most endur- to the Ends of the Earth.

Photo of satellite (top left): original photo by JAXA