Space Travel News  
Toyota To Equip Prius With Solar Panels

The Nikkei said the solar panels on the roof would supply part of the power needed for the vehicle's air conditioning.
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Jul 07, 2008
Japan's Toyota Motor plans to add solar panels to its popular Prius hybrid early next year to power the vehicle's air conditioning, a newspaper report said Monday.

As part of a complete design makeover, the Prius will be fitted with rooftop solar panels on its high-end models, the Nikkei economic daily said without naming sources.

If it happens, Toyota, in a close race with General Motors for the title of the world's top automaker, would be the first major carmaker to use a solar power generation system on a mass-produced vehicle.

Toyota rolled out the Prius in 1997 as the first mass production petrol-electric hybrid. It was redesigned in 2003 and a third-generation Prius is widely expected to come soon.

Toyota declined to confirm the Nikkei report.

"We cannot comment on our product planning," a company spokesman said.

The Nikkei said the solar panels on the roof would supply part of the power needed for the vehicle's air conditioning.

The carmaker plans to produce some 450,000 Priuses at home in 2009, up 60 percent from 2007, the Nikkei said.

Related Links
All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Analysis: Solar industry pushes tax credit
Washington DC (UPI) Jul 07, 2008
Solar energy could provide a substantial amount of the nation's electricity if Congress extends federal tax incentives, industry representatives told senators Wednesday.







  • ATK Receives Contract For US Air Force Sounding Rocket Contract
  • SpaceX Conducts Static Test Firing Of Next Falcon 1 Rocket
  • Pratt And Whitney Rocketdyne Contract Option For Solar Thermal Propulsion Rocket Engine
  • NASA, ATK Conduct First Launch Abort System Igniter Test For Orion

  • Inmarsat And ILS Set August 14 For Proton Flight With Inmarsat Satellite
  • Russia Launches Rocket With Military Satellite
  • Payload Integration Complete For Arianespace's Fourth Mission Of 2008
  • Successful Ariane 5 Solid Rocket Booster Test Firing

  • Disaster plan in place for Hubble mission
  • US space shuttle lands safely after installing Japanese lab
  • Space shuttle cleared to land, loose object poses no risk
  • Space shuttle blastoff damaged launch pad: NASA

  • NASA plans two ISS spacewalks next week
  • Shuttle astronauts bid farewell to space station crew
  • Discovery undocks from ISS
  • Shuttle Astronauts Bid Farewell To Space Station Crew

  • Russia seals agreement with private investor for space tourism
  • Analex Awarded Three-Year Option On NASA Expendable Launch Vehicles Integrated Support
  • NASA Goddard Has More Than A Dozen Exciting Missions In Next Year
  • Fly me to the Moon: Japan firm offers weddings in space

  • Shenzhou VII Research Crew Ready To Set Out For Launch Center
  • China's Shot Heard Around The Galaxy
  • A Better Focus On Shenzhou
  • Gallup Poll Shows Americans Unconcerned About China Space Program

  • Eight Teams Taking Up ESA's Lunar Robotics Challenge
  • Three Engineers, Hundreds of Robots, One Warehouse
  • Tartalo The Robot Is Knocking On Your Door
  • Sega, Hasbro unveil new dancing robot

  • Mars Sample Return: The Next Step In Exploring The Red Planet
  • Rain Showers On Mars
  • Phoenix To Bake Ice-Rich Sample Next Week
  • Phoenix Scrapes Almost Perfect Icy Soil For Analysis

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement