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Japanese electrical company Sanyo's local solar division is witnessing increasing client interest, following the country's power crisis.

Sanyo divisional manager for energy power solutions, Win Kurzyca, tells Engineering News that the power supply shortage has made people more aware of the need for energy savings.

He adds that hybrid systems such as solar energy, wind farms, gas and biodiesel are being implemented worldwide in an effort to save energy.

"Solar systems never fail when they are designed and engineered correctly. Sanyo offers a multilayer cell system, which generates power much earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon than many other systems. Where normal peak sunshine hours are normally five to six hours, Sanyo's solar panels can provide eight hours, thus contributing to higher energy production," he says.

Kurzyca explains that Sanyo's solar panels have an effective mono-crystalline design, and boast solar energy conversion efficiency of 22,3%, which is 5% higher than the industry average.

The technology responsible for this increased output is called heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer (HIT), which are panels made up of layers of crystalline silicone wafers, as well as thin amorphous silicon. The HIT PV-modules have a much smaller footprint and lighter weight than ordinary panels, but still provide the equivalent power output.

Sanyo offers its solar energy systems to households, offices or factories, while energy requirements for each case can be determined according to the total kilowatt an hour needed by the client. From that figure, Sanyo works out the size of the solar panels and the number of batteries required to guarantee that level of power supply.

The design of different Sanyo solar power systems suits individual energy needs. For the residential, commercial and industrial application, the main function would be as an uninterruptible power supply to maintain energy levels during load shedding.

Other systems are intended for applications like telecommunications units, game lodges or farms, that have no mains power and need sustainable, adequate power. Stand alone equipment, such as water pumps or global systems mobile masts, can be operated without any connections or maintenance.

Within the telecommunications industry, Sanyo is a provider of solar energy systems to cellular network Vodacom, and provides its systems to network operator Telkom.

Kurzyca states that, especially in South Africa, Sanyo has taken extreme measures to combat the theft of solar panels by placing the lightweight panels 15 m onto the masts, making them practically unreachable for thieves.

In addition, Sanyo also provides a portable solar panel tester (IV-curve tester), which can be used on-site to test solar panels and establish the efficiency of a solar energy system. The R120 000 tester, which is manufactured by a specialist company in Germany, is the only one of its kind in South Africa.

"If solar panels have to be tested, they are sent to factories and tested using a flash tester, which is very expensive. Sanyo's tester offers a less expensive alternative to this process," he says.

Besides its South African projects, Sanyo has erected solar panel masts, also known as quick deployment masts, in Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania.

"The deployment of these masts involves no concrete work, while each piece of metal can be handled by two people. Non-skilled staff are supervised by two Sanyo technicians during its deployment, which only takes a few days," he says.

Sanyo's solar energy division has also been requested to provide green power to the Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg, as well as Durban's Moses Mabhida stadium, which are hosting venues for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.