Production gets underway at Kyocera solar factory in San Diego

June 3, 2010

Kyocera is producing its 210W and 235W in its San Diego plant as it seeks to expand in the US market

Kyocera Solar has begun manufacturing solar modules at its new plant in San Diego, California, it said today.

Initially, it will produce 30 megawatts of solar modules a year for the US market.

But the plant’s capacity is expected to expand as Japanese-owned Kyocera seeks to produce one gigawatt (1,000MW) of solar cells worldwide by March 2013.

Kyocera’s 210-watt and 235W modules are being produced at the San Diego facility, the company’s most powerful and efficient solar power products.

Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar, Inc., said: “We’re pleased that our newest production operation is up and running today, according to schedule — a move that will allow us to meet increasing demand for innovative solar products.”

“Kyocera’s solar solutions go beyond residential rooftops — we specialize in transforming unused spaces, even parking lots and water-treatment facilities, into self-contained solar-electric generating systems that benefit communities and our planet.”

Fastest-growing

Kyocera said its solar energy business was its fastest-growing division globally, with production facilities in Japan, China, the Czech Republic and Mexico as well as the new San Diego plant.

The electronics giant first established US operations in 1969, and now employs around 4,000 people in the United States. Its solar division has its operating headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Kyocera is actively inviting inquiries for applications of its solar systems ranging from home power to utility-scale generation.

Tatsumi Maeda, vice president and general manager of Kyocera Corporation’s Solar Energy Group, said: “High-quality, high-efficiency solar modules from Kyocera’s San Diego plant fulfill the ‘Buy American’ provisions enacted by the U.S. government, while meeting the rising demand for renewable energy that has accompanied the current administration’s ‘Green New Deal’ measures.”

“Kyocera expects these products to extend the power benefits of the sun to an unprecedented number of people,” added Mr Maeda.