U.S. Made Solar Modules to Provide 73,000 kW Hours of Clean Energy to San Diego County "Cool Zone"

Kyocera Solar, Inc. is providing 47 direct current kilowatts (kW) of photovoltaic solar modules to Delta Solar Electric (www.deltasolarelectric.com) to power the Gloria E. McClellan Senior Center in Vista, CA. The U.S.-made modules were installed by Delta Solar Electric and fulfill its first ARRA-funded solar project.

Manufactured in Kyocera's San Diego production facility, the roof-mounted 245-watt modules will produce 73,000 kilowatt hours of clean energy annually for the Senior Center. Combined with new LED lighting and high-efficiency air conditioning units, these measures will reduce the Center's annual power consumption by as much as 92 percent. As a result, the Center will potentially save over $15,000 per year while reducing its impact on the environment.

"Kyocera is delighted to keep our San Diego-made solar solutions here in town to power this impressive senior center in the City of Vista," said Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar, Inc. "Our four decades of experience have made Kyocera solar modules some of the most reliable in the industry, as proven by our results in a recent TUV Rheinland's Long-Term Sequential Testing. It's gratifying to know that our solar modules are helping to ensure the well being of seniors while also reducing costs."

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Kyocera Solar, Inc., solar energy systems will power over 2000 homes in the Fiji Islands. The solar projects are in partnership with Fiji’s Department of Energy and the Fifth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting project (Palm 5) with the goal to bring renewable energy to remote villages of the island nation. To date, 135 kilowatts have been installed and the remaining 270 kilowatts will be completed by the end of the year.

With these solar systems, rural villages are able to thrive without access to a traditional electric grid.  Each system will utilize Kyocera’s modules and the sun’s energy to provide basic lighting and other low-power needs on the islands.

Solar energy makes so much sense for island nations that often lack an electricity grid infrastructure but have an abundance of sunshine year-round,” said George Phani, sales manager for Kyocera Solar Australia. “With our Kyocera modules, many Fijians have been given light and other electricity into the night – maybe for the first time. We hope this program can serve as a template for other islands to follow."

Kyocera has partnered with Powerlite Generators (Fiji) Limited to install 3,000 solar modules throughout Fiji. Each system includes at least one 135-watt Kyocera module, a regulator, maintenance-free batteries, and both indoor and outdoor lighting.

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 2011 was one of the worst natural disasters of modern times. Consequent meltdowns and explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station have left the Japanese people with deep concern about the safety of nuclear power, leading to a fundamental rethinking of their nation’s energy mix. As a result, Japan is now moving toward reduced reliance on nuclear power and much greater use of renewable energy.

On July 1, the Japanese government enacted a solar Feed-in Tariff, or “FIT,” enabling people who generate solar power to sell that renewable energy back to the grid at a fixed price – a price, in fact, about triple the rate paid by industrial users of Japan’s utility power. Industry analysts expect this new FIT program to stimulate investment of up to $9.6 billion in new solar installations throughout Japan while adding gigawatts of renewable energy capacity.

This new incentive has Japan poised to surpass Italy as the world’s second-largest market for solar power, and many believe Japan will even eclipse Germany as No.1.

You might be scratching your head at this point, thinking, “Why are Japan, Italy and Germany ahead of the U.S. in adopting solar power?”

Much of the answer lies in policy: The U.S. relies on tax breaks to incentivize solar, while the rest of the world uses some variation of the FIT program. The difference is key. A FIT program rewards people who invest in solar energy according to how much power they generate, in kilowatt hours (kWh). A tax incentive rewards solar adopters according to how much money they spent on their system.

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