KYOCERA to manufacture solar modules in US

SAN DIEGO, USA: Kyocera Solar Inc. has announced plans to begin manufacturing solar modules in San Diego, to serve the US market’s growing demand for clean energy.

The US module manufacturing will support a new milestone for Kyocera’s solar energy business — global production capacity targeting 1,000 megawatts of solar cells per year (equal to one “gigawatt” per year) by March 2013.

“Today’s announcement is further proof that California’s nation-leading green policies play a vital role in our state’s economic success,” said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Even in this recession, green jobs in California have grown, and Kyocera’s decision to locate its solar manufacturing operations in San Diego will create even more jobs at a time when they are needed most.”

The new solar module manufacturing will begin in San Diego at Kyocera’s Balboa Avenue facility during the first half of 2010, with an initial production target of 30 megawatts per year. The new operations will leverage Kyocera’s world-class US manufacturing capabilities to produce the company’s most powerful and efficient solar modules. The production venue was selected to cater specifically to the US market’s increasing demand for large-scale solar electric generating systems.

“The US is experiencing extraordinary growth in its adoption of solar electricity,” said Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar, Inc. “Kyocera’s San Diego plant will provide high-quality, high-efficiency solar modules to serve this expanding market. With a 35-year commitment to providing clean energy through solar modules, Kyocera is adding capacity globally to meet worldwide demand.”

Solar energy has become one of Kyocera’s fastest-growing businesses globally, with the company expecting to double its production of solar cells in the two fiscal years from 2009 to 2011. In addition to the operations coming to San Diego, Kyocera currently has solar module manufacturing facilities in Japan, China, the Czech Republic and Mexico.

Solar power offers a hedge against electricity cost increases and serves as an environmental countermeasure to acid rain, ozone depletion and rising carbon levels. As an illustration of Kyocera’s global expansion plan, the one-gigawatt capacity will allow the company to supply 3.5-kilowatt solar-electric systems for about 285,000 homes each year.

Kyocera established US operations in 1969, and started a trend as the first Japan-based corporation with manufacturing operations in the State of California (in 1971). Kyocera Group companies currently employ approximately 4,000 people in the United States.