Sharp Energy Will Supply Solar Panels for 300 New Homes in California Planned Community

Energy Resource, August 30, 2006

ENERGY RESOURCE-30 August 2006-Sharp Energy Will Supply Solar Panels for 300 New Homes in California Planned Community(C)2006 JeraOne - http://www.jeraone.com

Sharp will be supplying solar panels for up to 300 new homes to be built by BLU S.K.Y Homes in Bakersfield, Calif.

The homes in Juliana's Garden, located in the new master-planned community of City in the Hills, will be the first of several communities from BLU S.K.Y. that will feature the solar systems. Both the Camellia and Wisteria neighborhoods within Juliana's Garden will offer Sharp's solar power system as a standard feature on all homes.

"We've embedded environmentally friendly methods into virtually all areas of the Camellia and Wisteria neighborhoods," said Van Roberts, president of BLU S.K.Y Homes. "In addition to Sharp's state-of-the-art solar energy systems, these homes will also include landscaping with automatic drip irrigation systems for lower water usage, and low wattage and motion-sensing lighting to cut electricity consumption."

The homes will range from approximately 1,589 to 3,429 square feet and feature three to six bedrooms, up to four bathrooms, an attached two- or three-car garage, and depending upon the floor plans, will include family rooms, sunrooms, great rooms and Italianate courtyards.

Depending on the size of the home, solar energy systems will range in size between 1.7 and 3.5 kilowatts (kW). All systems will utilize a combination of Sharp's 62- and 142-watt rectangular modules and 72-watt triangular modules to supplement the electricity supplied from the local utility company.

Renewable Energy Concepts (REC) will install the systems. Construction on Camellia and Wisteria's first homes began this month and will continue for the next two to three years.

A recent survey conducted by Sharp found that the majority of Americans believe homebuilders should offer solar power as an option for all new home construction and are even willing to pay a premium for it.

"Consumers are embracing solar energy and requesting it as an option for their homes," said Ron Kenedi, vice president, Sharp's Solar Energy Solutions Group. "BLU S.K.Y Homes realizes the economic and environmental benefits that can be passed onto homeowners by providing solar as a standard on new homes."

Sharp Electronics Corporation is the U.S. subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, Osaka, Japan. With solar cell production capacity of 450 megawatts (MW) worldwide and more than 200,000 installations per year, Sharp is the world's solar production leader, a position the company has held for more than five years.

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