Environment and Energy Business

Panasonic is promoting business to support the use of natural energy sources and high-efficiency energy utilization, to respond to the worsening global warming issue.

Based on an agreement with Hokkaido Electric Power Co., Inc. and the city of Wakkanai in Japan, we were involved in a project by New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) for verification of grid stabilization for a large-scale power generation system and took charge of installing 1-MW PV panels. Building on our expertise in system technologies (solar cell module evaluation, solar cell system construction) in the PV business, we are striving for greater use of natural energy sources through the participation in this experimental study up to 2010.

We offer solutions to energy concerns by planning and implementing energy utilization schemes and facility renovation plans for CO₂ emission reduction. To this end, we have established a standard menu of knowhow that we have accumulated from the operation of factories over the years, and based on that, actual energy consumption, facility conditions, and operating status can be diagnosed. In particular, to achieve effective energy conservation, air-conditioning, power usage, electricity, lighting, production, and new energy facilities must be analyzed from various standpoints based on the specific situation of a factory. Using the energy conservation BA chart, and our energy conservation manual, we suggest possible CO₂ emission reductions, the amount of money to be invested, and the depreciation period. Through the horizontal application of this methodology we can formulate feasible energy conservation measures. The initiative using the chart will be implemented not only in factories in Japan, but also in factories in China, which leads to achieve our target of CO₂ reduction by 300,000 tons by fiscal 2010.