By MARCI WORMSER Staff Reporter As gas prices quickly climb toward record-high levels and the nation ponders how to manage its dependence on foreign oil, Solar Electrical Vehicles in Westlake Village has been working on a cost-effective solution. The company, which manufactures solar electrical systems for residential and commercial use through its sister company, Solar Electrical Systems, has been making custom roofs for Toyota Prius hybrid cars for a year. Next year, that technology will be getting an upgrade. Toyota has purchased $350 million of lithium ion battery packs from Korea that will be placed in the Prius 2008 model. The new 6-kilowatt battery packs will replace the current 1-kilowatt battery packs and will allow the hybrid vehicles to travel longer distances without requiring gas, according to Greg Johanson, president of Solar Electrical Systems. The new technology can save 40 percent of the fuel used in the U.S., he said. The solar roofs currently generate 200-300 watts of energy per hour, allowing drivers to be able to drive for five to six additional hours without re-energizing. The solar technology has added three to four additional miles a day “off the sun,” Johanson said. The higher-capacity batteries will add another 10 miles of gas-free driving, he said, adding that the company is also looking at ways to add the technology to Toyota Highlanders and electric Teslas. The company is also currently experimenting with increasing its 212-watt module to a 320-watt module, he said. “All the technology is there,” Johanson said. “It’s just the larger manufacturer taking the next step.” According to Johanson, when the solar roofs are exposed to sunlight, they generate voltage and ampage that’s stored in the battery. It takes 160 watts to drive a mile. Two miles a day is equal to 50 cents off the utility grid. For the first 40 miles of a commute, the cars use batteries rather than gas. Forty miles a day is equal to 50 cents a gallon off the utility grid. The kits cost a few thousand dollars to add to hybrid vehicles. But with gas prices expecting to break $4 a gallon in the near future, Johanson said they will be gaining in popularity. To date, the company has manufactured nearly 100 of the kits to individual buyers. “Four dollars is the break-even point for these kits,” Johanson said. “Then it pays for itself in two years. That’s where the economics makes sense for the kits. Do you want to own it or do you want to rent energy for the next three years?” After driving the solar-powered cars for three years, drivers will start saving money, he said. Johanson said there is an increase of solar energy efficiency by 10-20 percent every year, and he foresees the technology providing more energy at 10 percent less cost every year until 2012. “This is one of the first steps to get us out of oil efficiency,” he said. “It will be a statement of ‘I choose solar rather than oil.'”
