Eideard

Prius V – American name for Toyota’s Prius station wagon

File this one under the category of unexpected. According to Integrity Exports, Toyota logged an outrageous 52,000 orders for its Prius Alpha hybrid over in Japan since the vehicle launched on May 13th. That’s astronomical considering that Toyota set a monthly sales target of just 3,000 units for the gas-electric MPV.

Toyota says that it will ramp up production of the Prius Alpha in response to soaring demand, but boosting output from 3,000 to 5,000 vehicles per month (Toyota’s modified production levels) by summer’s end still doesn’t seem like it’ll be enough.

Despite Toyota promising that the enormous demand for the Prius Alpha won’t affect the launch of the Prius V here in the States, Integrity Exports begs to differ…

Even my barely functional remembrance of things mathematical tells me this critter ain’t landing on time in the United States. Unless Toyota decides to [1] stop taking orders in Japan, right now, and [2] decides to screw some of the people with orders already in-house in Japan.

China, the world’s largest solar panel exporter, is likely to boast 10 gigawatts of solar power capacity by 2015 from the current 1 gW, doubling its existing target amid rising doubts about the safety of nuclear power.

The country may double its target for solar power capacity to 10 gW in 2015 from the 5 gW originally planned the China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources…

Meanwhile, China consolidated its position as the No 1 country in clean-energy investment in 2010, with $54.4 billion flowing into the sector, up 39 percent from the 2009 level, according to a report by the US-based Pew Charitable Trusts, an independent, non-profit organization. In 2009, China overtook the United States as the No 1 nation for installed clean-energy capacity…

China’s installation of less than 1 gW of solar energy capacity demonstrates that most of its production is for the export market. In contrast, 17 gW of wind energy was installed in China in 2010, helping the nation move quickly toward its 2020 target for installing 150 gW of wind energy, the report said…

“The new target could be a relief for China’s overcapacity photovoltaic (PV) industry,” said Li Shengman, an industry analyst at China Investment Consulting. The export-dependant industry will see the domestic market expanding, Li said…

China is home to the world’s top solar makers, including Suntech Power Holdings Ltd and Trina Solar Ltd all of whom have focused on the overseas markets while expecting a domestic market take-off.

It doesn’t especially matter to the manufacturers whether they’re selling to the government of China or to national-level builders of sun-farms in other lands. Product is going out the door.

What this disaster in Japan caused me to reflect upon is a comparison of all costs associated with electricity production from the two methods: solar vs. nuclear. And that, I discovered, gives an economic edge to solar of almost 30%.

Home backup Li-on battery includes smart grid software for your home

Panasonic Corporation has developed more powerful batteries for use in everything from laptops to electric vehicles, the Japanese electronics maker has said.

The new lithium-ion batteries are 20% to 30% more powerful than current batteries, according to Osaka-based Panasonic. They can raise the cruising range of electric vehicles on a single charge from 120 miles to about 170 miles, it said…

Panasonic has a joint venture with Toyota Motor Corporation that supplies batteries for hybrid cars, including the Prius, and plug-in models. But Panasonic said it was in talks with about 10 automakers to supply the new battery, underlining the breakdown of such tie-ups involving batteries for green autos.

Panasonic has also just taken majority control of Japanese rival Sanyo Electric Company, which also boasts new lithium-ion battery technology.

Disclaimer – I own stock in Sanyo. Mostly because they make the “Toasty” – my favorite toaster-oven – and Eneloop, the best rechargeable AA batteries in the world.

None of this growth is unexpected – if you ignore pundits who base their analysis of tech industries on Silicon Valley or Detroit of 20 years ago.