By John Boley

This has been a year of upheaval for the solar power industry. It was the year when solar panels began fast approaching grid parity, when the cost of implementing solar energy began to reach that of other generation methods. Until 2012, solar power was relatively expensive due to the high costs of photovoltaic panels, making solar prohibitive in all but a few applications without government incentives or subsidies.

But photovoltaic prices have collapsed since 2008 at an increasing rate; one industry estimate puts the drop at more than 80 per cent with half of that drop coming in the last year alone. Another has it that the average capital cost of a new solar array has dropped 30 per cent in the last two years. Many solar companies anticipate further reductions in the cost of their equipment and facilities.

So is now the time to go out and buy up panels? After all, they are all the same – they all come out of China, where over-production stoked by government subsidies to manufacturers has reached crisis proportions – so now they should cost next to nothing, shouldn’t they?

Well, not exactly. Not if you listen to George Phani. He is National Sales and Operations Manager for the Australian arm of Kyocera Solar, one of the world’s largest vertically-integrated producers and suppliers of solar energy panels. He has some 15 years of experience in this industry while Kyocera has more than 35 years of production of solar panels and it is his considered opinion that while tech-nology has improved and prices have become more competitive, there is a crying need for education at customer level – in all fields including commer-cial, residential and power genera-tion. During this century, the number of companies offering solar energy products has increased by 51 per cent per year; few of them manufacture their own and even fewer have complete control over every step of the manufacturing process like Kyocera.

To read the entire article, go HERE.

As featured in Resource in Focus, December 2012

Taking calculated risk on new products and services is opening doors for this dealership.

By Jack Zemlicka, Technology Editor, Farm Equipment

Jim Straeter has never been one to rest on his laurels when it comes to running a successful farm equipment business. The owner and operator of New Holland Rochester in Rochester, Ind., prides himself on taking chances — albeit calculated ones — always with an eye toward the future. Whether he’s opening up a precision farming-specific store or investing in solar energy, Straeter is always moving forward.

“There is so much opportunity out there that I just don’t have enough time to get after it all,” he says. “That’s what worries me.” But beyond the unavoidable limitations of a 24-hour day, Straeter acknowledges the comfort in knowing that a little ingenuity can go a long way toward keeping a dealership economically viable.

Straeter bought the New Holland Rochester dealership in 1987, four years into its existence. He was a company store manager at the location and purchased the dealership through New Holland’s dealer development plan. During the next 21 years, Straeter acquired three other New Holland dealerships in Indiana — Logansport (1994), Rossville (1997) and Bluffton (2008).

His general philosophy of putting customers first hasn’t changed since he bought the New Holland Rochester dealership more than a quarter-century ago. But Straeter recognizes that the cost of machinery and demands for service have increased dramatically — especially in the last decade — challenging owners to become innovators, not just business managers.

New Holland Rochester’s innovations, like solar panel sales and an independent precision ag store, are positioning the dealership for the future.

“Today, it takes more capital because machine prices are up 50% vs. 10 years ago,” he says. “It also takes a much higher level of service and sales capability, because the machines farmers demand today are much more technology-rich than they were 10 years ago.”

To read the entire article, go HERE.

Printed by permission of Farm Equipment.

Swiss Solar Prize Awarded to ‘Quimby Huus’ Solar Power Project

Kyocera Corporation (President: Tetsuo Kuba) announced that an exceptional solar project utilizing the company's solar modules has been awarded the 2012 Swiss Solar Prize. The wheelchairs of ten inhabitants at the Quimby Huus, an institution for the physically disabled in St. Gallen, Switzerland, are driven exclusively using solar power. A 3kW solar power generating system using Kyocera solar modules is installed on the roof of the Quimby Huus, providing 3,000kWh of clean electricity each year -- enough to power the residents' electric wheelchairs all year round without creating any CO2 emissions. This sustainable project is led by environmentally-committed Sandro Buff (30), who has been using a wheelchair himself for 16 years.

Electric wheelchairs typically would be powered by the main utility grid and usually require two 12 volt rechargeable batteries. The idea behind the Quimby Huus solar project was to derive this power entirely from renewable energy. In order to realize this idea, a solar power generating system needed to be installed on the roof to free inhabitants from dependence on the main grid and secure an environmentally-friendly form of energy. The leader of the project, Sandro Buff, quickly gained the support of the Quimby Huus manager.

To read the entire article, go HERE.