Slurpees & Solar: 7-11′s Tips to Become Energy Independent

7-11 retrofits 100 stores with Solar in 2011 - Today, We honor the Slurpee

Along with the photovoltaic panels on its roof that generate as much as a third of the store’s electricity, the 185-square-meter, or 2,000-square-foot, “eco-konbini” in Kyoto also has a light-reflecting floor and sensors that automatically adjust the lighting. What’s an eco-konbini?, it’s the Japanese word for ‘convenient stores’ and 7-Eleven is retrofitting 100 of them in Japan this year.

At that rate, it would take more than half a century to turn the 12,000 7-Elevens in Japan green, but the company says that as the costs of outfitting a store come down, the number of conversions is expected to go up. The company also makes the claim that doing 100 stores is just like removing 600 cars off the road.

Needless to say, much of the solar industry in the US right now has been and still is predicted by what we see happening overseas first. Solar panel adoption and green energy attitudes started sweeping across Europe long before in the United States. Asian markets, particularly China, has ramped up manufacturing ahead of the US, and a monolithic convenient store chain, personal to the American psyche, is now retrofitting stores with solar – in Japan. Sense the irony here?

Solar adoption, as well as green energy as a whole, is among the most democratic movements thus far this century. It is capitalism at its core. The demand for the alternative is percolating among the masses like a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts coffee brewing every morning before rush hour. It’s the people who are pushing this, not the energy companies. It’s demand, not supply.

Yet as we watch, America, who’s serious about energy independence , can at least extract a blueprint lesson in the 7-Eleven example:

1. In 2008, they retrofitted the first store with energy saving lights.
2. In 2009, they retrofitted stores with solar panels & LEDs.
3. 2010, they combined the retrofit to combine energy saving lights, Solar Panels & LEDs
4. Final step is they are adding Electric Vehicle chargers, powered by Solar.

With that illustration, we have foreshadowed of what is soon to come to the USA. Though, it’s ironic that we have to look elsewhere for technology that we are clearly capable of adopting & innovating better than any country. 2011, is starting to feel like that Americans have finally recognized themselves in the proverbial mirror. At last, seeing that it is time to shine, after all, the world has been waiting.

Solar Power International 2010 Highlights

Flash Report:  The LA Times stated “at least 27,000 people” were expected to pass through the Solar Power International convention at the LA convention center. The expo floor was 825,000 square feet. Aside from the standard new product announcements from the various companies at the conference. The buzz around the halls involved the announcements of more manufacturers launching AC panels. Two of the most interesting prospects being AC panels by Phono Solar & UP Solar. UP Solar also plans to roll out a Zep AC module.

AltaTerra Research released a preliminary report on Wednesday that Solar power installed for utility use will boom nearly 400% by the end of the year. Utilities around the country will be able to tap 251 megawatts, compared with just 65 in 2009. Of all utility installations, 68 percent are projects of 10 MW or greater.

Keynote speaker Rhone Resch of SEIA said that, by 2015, “We can create 220,000 new solar jobs for our families and neighbors while supporting half a million more jobs in other industries.” Seperate to Resch’s speech was The Solar Foundation announcing “The National Solar Jobs Census,” which it released at the conference. The report found that over half of solar employers expect to increase their workforce in the next 12 months.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar told delegates at the conference the first four solar projects ever to be approved on U.S. public lands – totaling nearly 1,200 megawatts of power – have been green-lighted in the past 10 days. Salazar went on to say “These projects are milestones in our energy future. They show what great strides we are making through innovation and technology. And they reflect President Obama’s focus and commitment…”

IKEA said it would install solar panels on 90% of its California stores by early nearly year. That’s 4.5 megawatts of power, using nearly 20,000 panels.

Los Angeles and Berlin, one of its sister cities, signed an agreement Wednesday to help each other develop local clean-tech clusters.

The nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy announced that California leads the US in investments for energy efficiency. Massachusetts was next, and North Dakota came in last. States allotted $4.3 billion to energy-efficiency measures last year, up from $2.5 billion in 2007.

It was a terrific conference, and next year, “Watch out Texas here come the Solar folk!”

courtesy to: Tiffany Hsu