Amsterdam, N.Y. has struggled during the economic downturn, with many businesses shutting their doors and new businesses fighting to survive. What’s a small town to do when manufacturing moves out and unemployment moves in?

New York Light Energy (NYLE), a company that designs, installs, and operates photovoltaic (PV) power systems on commercial buildings and properties, has a sunny solution: a zero-down offer for customers who want to install Kyocera’s industry-leading solar modules on their roofs and bask in the benefits of solar energy. You read that right: no upfront investment for customers, just an agreement to buy electricity from NYLE — and, at rates lower than typical “grid” utility charges. As a result, return on investment and savings are immediate.

“We install the Kyocera solar PV system at our cost, taking advantage of state and federal subsidies,” explained Alex Lieb, CEO of NYLE.  “The customer agrees to buy the electricity produced on their roof with our system at a set rate, which is typically at least 20% below grid price and sometimes even lower.” 

To read the entire article, go HERE.

When the Solar Power World team lands at Midway Airport on its way to Solar Power International, they will be on the lookout for a new solar installation, thanks to Kyocera Solar.

The company announced that 25 kilowatts (kW) of Kyocera photovoltaic modules now help power Chicago’s Midway Airport’s new environmentally friendly consolidated rental car facility. Installed by Green Power Solutions, the PV system is on the roof of the Quick-Turn Around (QTA) facility, where hundreds of rental cars are washed and refueled daily.

As planes taxi and land, passengers enjoy a great view of the rooftop PV system, which supplies about 30 percent of the QTA’s power needs and provides a strong visual reminder of Midway Airport’s green initiatives. The QTA facility includes nine car wash bays, nine fueling islands, 36 fuel pumps and two 20,000 gallon underground fuel tanks. Water used to wash the rental cars is recycled.

Working together, Kyocera and Green Power Solutions were able to overcome a structural challenge with the installation, which sits on a split-seam metal roof, by modifying a special clamp on the racking system to secure the system in place. Green Power Solutions also installed nine wind turbines in conjunction with Midway Airport’s green initiative. The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) is pursuing LEED certification for the project, which receives three “green airplanes” for design and four green airplanes for construction, as rated by the CDA’s Sustainable Airport Manual.

To read the entire article, go HERE.

The Kyocera Group’s (President: Goro Yamaguchi) subsidiary in charge of sales of solar products and services in Japan, Kyocera Solar Corporation (headquarters: Kyoto; president: Seiji Goto; herein “KSC”) and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Tokyo; president: Masami Iijima; herein “Mitsui”) have agreed to collaborate on the operation of the SoftBank Izumiotsu Solar Park, a 19.6-megawatt (MW) solar power plant being built by SB Energy Corp. (headquarters: Tokyo; CEO: Masayoshi Son; herein “SB Energy”) in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

The SoftBank Izumiotsu Solar Park will be the largest* solar power installation in Osaka Prefecture and is being built on approximately 25 hectares of prefectural government land. Approximately 80,000 Kyocera solar modules will be used for the 19.6MW project, which is expected to generate roughly 20,680MWh of electricity each year ― the equivalent amount to power roughly 5,700 typical homes. Izumiotsu Solar Park Corp. has been jointly established by Mitsui, SB Energy and KSC to manage the project, with the solar park set to go online in July 2014.

Mitsui, SB Energy and KSC will continue to promote the expanded use of clean energy by building and operating large-scale mega-solar power plants.

To read the entire article, go HERE.