issue: May 2008 APPLIANCE Magazine Tokyo Report Nippon Oil to Sell Sanyo Solar Cells and Expand Fuel Cell Sales	Share  Printable format  Email this Article  Search
by Wasaku Ishida, Japan correspondent, and president, JARN (Japan Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News)

Nippon Oil Corp. will sell Sanyo Electric Co.’s home-use solar panels as early as fiscal 2008 through its nationwide petroleum product sales network. The Japanese oil wholesaler plans to use about 50 of its distributors around Japan to sell the 3 kw-class solar panels for residential use.

Nippon Oil has already been selling home-use Sanyo fuel cells through its distributors and now hopes to expand its alternative-energy business with solar panels. In April, Nippon Oil planned to bolster its involvement in the fuel cell business by establishing a joint venture with Sanyo to manufacture home-use fuel cells. Nippon Oil planned to take an 81% stake in the venture.

Demand for oil is declining in Japan amid high prices and utilities urging homes to go all-electric. Nippon Oil is reportedly developing its own low-priced next-generation solar cells with the goal of commercializing them in 2015.