On March 16, electronics giant Sanyo announced the opening of two eco-friendly community bicycle stations it is calling “Solar Parking Lots”.

Located near the heart of Tokyo, in downtown proper and in Setagaya (a suburb, or prefecture, about 3 miles southwest of city center), the lots offer 100 each of Sanyo’s “eneloop” electric hybrid bikes. Another lot, in Kyodo, offers an additional 100 bikes. All are on the Odakyu commuter train rail line.

These bikes tap the unused kinetic energy generated by coasting downhill or braking to repower their lithium-ion batteries, and are thus able to offer riders an uphill assist or a little push in otherwise difficult terrain while also operating 40 miles on a single charge.

The charging-while-idle takes about three and one-half hours and comes from a rank of Sanyo 7.56kW HIT solar panels on the roof of a shade structure in each solar parking lot, with grid-independent AC converters that can be used to charge external devices, as well as ranks of lithium ion-based storage cells that hold power for the low-intensity LED lighting that lights commuters way in the evening hours.

For Tokyo commuters in the heart of this densely populated city, what could be cleaner and more emissions-free than electric bikes, more useful than electronic charging stations, and more eminently “saikou” than renting a bike to tour the outer city or visit relatives after a high-powered week on the job in the electronics industry?

No one knows how much the rentals will cost, or if money is even the object. Presumably there will be a deposit for the rentals, since the bikes – which recently won the 2010 Best of Innovations award at the Consumer Electronics Show – cost close to $3,000 retail.

The solar parking lots, and the community biking scheme, are part of Sanyo’s Smart Energy System, or SES, which aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by creating, storing and conserving renewable energy in housing, industry and transportation.

For Sanyo, which is showcasing its environmental expertise at the Green California Summit and Exposition at the Sacramento Convention Center on March 16 and 17, the rollout of its eneloop bikes and “green power” charging station – albeit an ocean away – is a bit of well-deserved back-patting.