In a drive to promote renewable energy, Ecology Online, a
Japanese non-profit organization, launched sales on April 20, 2013, of its
"Nano Power Station Set" -- a combined system that includes a
40-watt, high-power photovoltaic solar panel and a high-capacity rechargeable
battery -- as the first product in its "tiny light" series.
The solar panel measures 61 x 52 x 2.5 centimeters and
weighs only 3.5 kilograms, but it has a high efficiency of 19 percent, is made
of a single crystal, and charges up even when the sky is cloudy. The battery
itself is small, weighing only 2.6 kilograms, and can be held in one hand. It
also has an extra-large capacity of 75,000-milliampere-hours, which allows the
recharging of up to 70 mobile telephones, the operation of LED lights for 22
hours, or powering a small refrigerator for 7.8 hours.