Kyocera Corporation announced that its total accumulated production of solar modules since 1975 has exceeded the 5 GW milestone. In the current fiscal year, the company is targeting annual production of 1.4GW, up from approximately 1.2GW in the previous fiscal year.
Kyocera's rapid increase in solar production in recent years has been spurred by rising global demand for renewable energy resources. Solar is becoming an attractive solution for countries, businesses and consumers who want to reduce their impact on the environment and dependence on coal and nuclear energies. This has become most evident in Japan over the past few years, where an aggressive feed-in-tariff program launched in July 2012 has seen an unprecedented rise in the adoption of solar. Kyocera has also taken proactive measures to further its solar business by becoming an independent power producer.
Kyocera, originally a producer of fine ceramics, began researching solar energy in 1975 soon after the first oil crisis. With approximately 40 years’ experience in the solar industry, the company has expanded its solar energy-related business to include not only the production and supply of solar modules, but also the construction, operation and maintenance of mega-solar power projects. It also entered into supplying lithium-ion batteries for power storage, as well as developing Energy Management Systems (EMS) in Japan, which allow real-time monitoring of power usage and contribute to optimal control of energy in homes and communications technologies.
Kyocera is strongly aware of the importance of renewable energy, and this awareness has driven the company to work to make solar energy more widely deployed throughout the world.