Bigger And Better In Texas

An Integrated Home Power/Transportation Solar Installation That Does It All

Kyocera Solar panel owners are innovative – and sometimes relentless – in their quest to utilize the environmentally friendly energy of photovoltaic power. When they experience first-hand the value proposition of producing power for decades from the clean, renewable energy of the sun, it can become the driving force to “go solar” in every possible way.

Richard Golladay of Kingsland, Texas is a great example. He describes himself as a “gradual adopter” of solar energy – he started out with two Kyocera solar panels and now owns 56!

“It started with a solar-powered water well pump to serve a one-acre pecan orchard, using two small Kyocera panels,” he explained.  “After operating this system for two summers and being impressed by the great quantity of water it pumped into my storage tank (which never dropped below half-full), I decided to install a medium-sized PV system to power my house.”

Richard contracted for 26 Kyocera 240-watt panels, 14 of which were installed on a tractor garage asphalt shingle roof, and the other 12 on a ground mount pylon-type support.

“The first 26 panels gave me confidence that the installer, Mountaintop Solar of Boerne, Texas, was an expert whose quality and workmanship could be trusted,” Richard explained. “I was impressed by Mountaintop Solar – they performed the entire PV installation, including excavating holes to form the foundations for the pylons, forming up the pylons with sona-tubes, installing rebar, excavating a trench, installing conduit, and ordering and installing a custom frame to support the ground mount panels.”

“After several months with the 26-panel system, I decided to add an additional 28 panels, also on ground mounts, which brought me to a total of 54 panels, not including the original two in the orchard,” Richard said.  “The 12kW system more than offsets my yearly electrical load on a 3,400-square-foot house, with three heat pump A/C units — plus, one of the ground arrays has an electric vehicle (EV) Level 2 charging station installed under it, which is a convenient place to park my Nissan Leaf electric vehicle (EV).”

Richard’s four separate arrays of 54 standard Kyocera KD240GX-LFB panels, all with Enphase micro-inverters, were installed in three phases during the summer of 2012.

“The economic justification for this, in a rural area where the CO-OP does not offer rebates, might be a stretch for some people,” Richard said. His reasoning was that money set aside in an IRA was depreciating, but getting the 30% IRS tax credit on the solar installation would offset the tax penalty of removing IRA funds. He further reasoned that the dollar value of paying an electric bill requires an income of $136 for every $100 spent on the electric bill (in a 27% tax bracket). And, the dollar amount of gasoline saved by running an EV saves money at a similar rate.  In other words, installing his residential PV solar system and running the EV creates a cash flow of between $400 and $500 per month, compared to the IRA which provided almost no cash flow.

“So, in effect, I am ‘paying myself’,” he explained. “Add to this that the solar PV system will still have intrinsic value after 25 years, and my decision was an easy one.” Richard describes his PV solar system and electric vehicle combination as an integrated home power / transportation system. The best part is that it locks in his costs for both power and transportation indefinitely, in spite of future inflation in either electricity or gasoline costs.

“I realize that not everyone can do this the way I did,” he conceded. “But solar third-party financing is available in many places, and almost everyone has to drive – so, the chance to install solar in some capacity is available to many people.”

“It’s definitely something to consider,” he stated. “Good luck!”

Kyocera Powers our Camping Trips!

Many people install solar power on their homes and businesses to provide freedom from the yearly electricity rate increases by utility companies, in addition to the wonderful environmental benefits derived from electricity created by the clean, renewable energy of the sun.

When we asked our customers to send in their solar stories, Brad and Beth Story of Essex, Mass., shared an innovative use of Kyocera solar modules that gives them yet another type of freedom.

“We installed two Kyocera 135-watt panels on our home-built Sprinter camper van,” Beth explained. “They allow us to have a small efficiency refrigerator, a domestic water pump, an electric flush toilet, a roof-top vent fan and 5 LED lights at night — and they charge a full battery within a few hours the next day.”  Beth went on to explain that even when it is not fully sunny, their wonderful Rogue solar controller helps maximize the power the panels send into the batteries. Kyocera solar panels help give this couple the freedom to roam wherever they want, without worrying about connecting to traditional camping services.

The Kyocera solar modules helped power the Story’s month-long 2012 cross-country trip from Massachusetts to California and back, in addition to numerous smaller trips, including journeys on rough gravel roads that shook and jostled the modules constantly.  Even under such extreme circumstances, the Storys have encountered no problems at all with their reliable Kyocera solar modules.

“They’ve taken us camping in Yosemite, Big Sur and at one of the most windy places we’ve ever been:  the Vedauwoo Rocks in southern Wyoming,” Beth said.

The handy couple performed the build-out of their van themselves, after researching solar and 12 -volt systems on the internet.

“We wanted to keep the power draws low, so we went with all 12-volt, to avoid power losses to inverter use,” Beth explained. “We bought the most efficient fridge we could find: a top-opening Engel that draws 1.8 amps; our Fantastic Fan in the roof and Thetford electric flush toilet are low draw; the LED lights draw almost nothing, and the water pump is the smallest on-demand Whale brand.”

“We can also charge the battery bank with the van’s alternator and a relay arrangement. If we drive every day, we have more power than we need,” she said. “The solar panels come into play when we camp off-grid for two to five days; the panels charge up the batteries every day enough to keep us going: the water pump and toilet flush pump are used only for a few seconds at a time; the LED lights are on all evening, the fan only for about an hour on hot days — making the fridge and charging our phones and laptop the only significant draws.”

The couple found inspiration and information from various online forums about solar power on RV and yachts, including Northern Arizona Wind and Sun, the dealer that sold them their Kyocera solar panels and cables.

Kyocera modules help these happy campers power their exploration of our vast, beautiful nation while minimizing environmental impact even in the back-country, where grid-connected services are not available. This is an innovative application of Kyocera solar modules, and we’re delighted to share their story.

Beth sums it up: “We love our Kyocera solar panels!”

Wheelchairs Run on Sunshine: KYOCERA Solar Modules Generate Energy to Charge Electric Wheelchairs

Swiss Solar Prize Awarded to ‘Quimby Huus’ Solar Power Project

An exceptional solar project utilizing the company’s solar modules has been awarded the 2012 Swiss Solar Prize. The wheelchairs of ten inhabitants at the Quimby Huus, an institution for the physically disabled in St. Gallen, Switzerland, are driven exclusively using solar power. A 3kW solar power generating system using Kyocera solar modules is installed on the roof of the Quimby Huus, providing 3,000kWh of clean electricity each year — enough to power the residents’ electric wheelchairs all year round without creating any CO2 emissions. This sustainable project is led by environmentally-committed Sandro Buff (30), who has been using a wheelchair himself for 16 years.

Electric wheelchairs typically would be powered by the main utility grid and usually require two 12 volt rechargeable batteries. The idea behind the Quimby Huus solar project was to derive this power entirely from renewable energy. In order to realize this idea, a solar power generating system needed to be installed on the roof to free inhabitants from dependence on the main grid and secure an environmentally-friendly form of energy. The leader of the project, Sandro Buff, quickly gained the support of the Quimby Huus manager.

To read the entire article, go HERE
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KYOCERA announces improvements to its already popular KD200-60 Series modules

In our ongoing efforts to improve our products and services (Kaizen), Kyocera will be introducing a new frame for the KD60 Series Module line beginning February 1, 2013.

The new frame is designed to allow for end mounting as well as provide increased ground mounting options and flexibility during installation.

For more information, please contact Customer Service at 800-223-9580 or click HERE.

To view the KD60 Series spec sheet, please click HERE.

2012: Solar Revolution in the United States?

By Cecilia Aguillon

Sometimes the biggest stories go unreported. Of all the news that didn’t make headlines this year, the dramatic increase in U.S. solar installations ranks near the top of the list. While we were reading about weak demand for manufactured goods and a slow economy throughout 2012, Americans installed over 3 gigawatts of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems — an unprecedented level, up 71 percent year-over-year. Can you name another industry that grew this much?

Actually, America’s forecasted 3.2GW in 2012 is up from 1.9GW in 2011, and less than one gigawatt in 2010. Global PV demand is now shifting away from Europe, where new installations fell by about 3GW in 2012. And beyond the U.S., the addition of a feed-in tariff in 2012 has made Japan perhaps the world’s fastest-growing market for solar energy.
The U.S. industry grew despite questions about economic recovery, limited financing opportunities, polarizing viewpoints about renewable energy, an abundance of “cheap” natural gas, and a presidential campaign that made energy independence a political hot potato. One or two high-profile failures brought skepticism on an energy resource that, by all accounts, is one of the most promising ever discovered. The reality is that 2012 was the biggest year ever for U.S. solar installations.

American homeowners, businesses and utility companies drove investments in solar energy. California, Arizona, and Colorado accelerated the uptake of solar energy systems to the point of decreasing their incentive programs significantly. The lack of low-interest financing from conventional banks allowed third-party financing to sweep across states with leasing and “power purchase agreement” programs that encourage homeowners to install solar equipment without putting money down.

You could argue that the success was not evenly distributed. Insiders will look back on 2012 as a year of consolidation. Several well-known brands actually pulled out of the U.S. solar market in 2012, including Sharp, Schott, Siliken and Uni-Solar.

Further, the influx of PV modules from China drove prices down an astonishing 30 percent. And while lower costs are generally good for consumers, this sudden phenomenon resulted in U.S. trade sanctions amid charges of “dumping” ― the illegal practice of exporting products at prices below their manufacturing cost in an effort to disrupt markets. While installations expanded, only the industry stalwarts remained profitable within this tumultuous pricing environment.

Some of the PV highlights of 2012 included:

• The National Solar Jobs Census reported that the industry enjoyed 13.2 percent year-on-year employment growth, significantly outpacing the overall economy. The U.S. solar industry now employs more than 119,000 Americans.
• Sempra U.S. Gas & Power completed construction of the first 92 MW phase of its Copper Mountain Solar 2 solar PV plant in Nevada using First Solar modules. Another 58MW is planned for installation by 2015.
• The NEDO Japan-U.S. Collaborative Smart Grid Project launched in Los Alamos, N.M., representing a landmark cooperative effort between top international researchers to develop the “smart grid” that will be instrumental for the further optimization of PV.
• Kyocera celebrated its two millionth PV module produced in North America, with manufacturing plants that are generally running near capacity. As a reflection of growth, it took Kyocera five years to produce its first million modules in North America ― and less than two years to produce the second million.

This is all good news for consumers. It means the initial questions regarding the cost and reliability of solar energy have now been completely overcome. While concerns remain about the reliability of low-cost imports, polycrystalline silicon PV cells now have four decades of successful field experience behind them — and products from established producers represent a very reliable solution.

Consumers do need to be informed. According to SustainableBusiness.com, competition resulting from oversupply and plummeting PV module prices present a new problem: poorly made product. In their frenzy to enter the industry, many new companies were founded in the past 10 years, and some undoubtedly rushed to market. When a product competes solely on price, there is a real risk that cost-cutting shortcuts will affect performance and reliability. As with anything, the adage “You get what you pay for” holds true with PV modules.

A consumer might minimize risk by looking at the warranty on a PV module. If the module is guaranteed for 25 years, and the manufacturer hasn’t been in business that long, the lower price may merely represent a higher risk.

As we celebrate a milestone year, we must also look ahead. In 2013, many solar incentive programs will be winding down. With current low costs and more consumers installing photovoltaic systems, we will likely see more financing models — not just solar leases and loans, but also “solar share” programs, which enable consumers to invest in single large-scale solar installations and “virtually” use the solar electricity in their own homes … even if they move! We must also address ongoing challenges that pit our nation’s utilities against the adoption of solar energy, resolve concerns about the grid, and identify what costs and benefits there are to non-participants in the American solar revolution.

Finally, there’s a great need for storage options for all the solar power being generated. These options will become more prevalent, as California and Pennsylvania begin pilot programs encouraging homes and businesses to include electricity storage options similar to the Home Energy Management System demonstrated at the NEDO smart grid project in New Mexico.

2012 was a year of solar revolution because, against the odds, Americans moved their solar market forward. We must recognize that the 30% federal investment tax credit helped accelerate the U.S. solar market, and that a growing number of states are encouraging solar adoption. Still, kudos go to the home and business owners who take the bigger step to install and use solar energy, and to the utilities serious about building a sustainable energy portfolio for their service territories.

One thing is certain: the new year brings new promise for America’s energy future. And there has never been a more exciting time for the U.S. solar energy industry.

Photo courtesy of APS-ES

Kyocera Solar director pursues calling to help humanity.

When Cecilia Aguillon, director of marketing and government relations for Kyocera Solar Inc., immigrated to the United States from El Salvador as a teen, she grew into a young adult with a lofty goal in mind: to save the world.

Her journey to a now multi-decade career at Kyocera was an accelerated one, placing her, as she sees it, in line toward accomplishing that goal without much delay. Following her completion of high school in Los Angeles, she began the journey at UCLA, where she studied political science and international relations.

Already a native speaker of Spanish, and an adopted speaker of English, she wanted to learn another language that would not only broaden her vocabulary, but provide an advantage in the worldwide market.

“Japanese seemed so foreign to the Romance Languages, and I wanted to study something that was different,” Aguillon said.

It was easy to pronounce, for a Spanish speaker, she said, and its perceived beauty to her further bolstered her desire to learn it.

So she did, adding to her credentials in with some time in Japan following the completion of her undergraduate studies in 1993.

In her time there, she didn’t just learn the Japanese language. She learned of the Japanese culture also, including how they view caring for the environment.

From then on, she knew working for a multinational Japanese company would be of interest to her after graduation.

Cecilia Aguillon is the director of marketing and government relations for Kyocera Solar Inc.  Photo by Laura Hansen

 

“I wanted to do something that was good for the environment, while at the same time helping developing countries, like El Salvador, to develop sustainably,” Aguillon said. “It was so natural to get into it, because at the time, Japan was the only market really viable in solar energy.”

When time came for graduate school at UCSD in 1995, she decided halfway through to again visit Japan for a year to study more in Tokyo.

“I knew Kyocera when I was there,” Aguillon said.

In fact, it was recommended by some even in those days for her to seek employment there, but she didn’t consider herself a good fit at what she viewed as such a high-tech company.

But Kyocera’s presence in San Diego, where Aguillon returned to study, and connections she had made within the company by then, made a difference after graduation.

While many of her friends gained employment in the months following graduation, Aguillon passed up five offers from various companies, holding out for a more perfect vision of what she wanted to do. Just as she began to feel the decisions to hold out weighing on her, she received an offer from Kyocera six months after graduation from UCSD.

“It was kind of like a miracle,” Aguillon said.

A job opened in the company’s solar division working with consumer products. She jumped onboard. Within another six months, another opportunity came when Kyocera bought a large solar distributor.

But the expansion of the solar division meant moving the solar hub to Scottsdale, Ariz. Rod Lanthorne, Kyocera International’s head at the time, didn’t plan on moving Aguillon with it. Instead, he saw a chance to keep her in San Diego, to promote her to the managing position in the company’s consumer products division.

She wasn’t sure she wanted the position, but Lanthorne’s offer for her to head a part of the company, and Lanthorne’s expression of trust in her to do so, were too much to pass up.

But in 2002, Aguillon decided it was time for a change. Though enjoying her time running around in cities like New York and marketing Kyocera products in large cooking magazines and publications, her heart wasn’t in it. And she knew it.

“Driving around with chefs in limousines, and going to New York at the food shows and all that, it was so much fun,” Aguillon said. “It was rewarding and I was also fulfilling my commitments to the company — it was profitable. So everybody questioned my sanity.”

But it came down to doing something more rewarding than that, she said, even if it meant moving to a financially struggling solar division in Scottsdale without being the top dog or going to Japan. She set goals while in the consumer products division, specifically the top goal to land an account with Williams-Sonoma for the marketing of Kyocera’s cooking products. She met that goal, which meant it was time to move on.

“I knew in my gut solar was going to change energy,” Aguillon said.

And it was her passion to begin with, giving her more reason to wake up in the morning and want to work than she had felt in the consumer products division, she said.

By 2004, she returned to San Diego on behalf of Kyocera Solar, bringing her closer to ground zero in terms of the proximity to the company’s new solar factory in Mexico and action surrounding California’s work to create the California Solar Initiative, or CSI, at the time.

“The California market started to boom, and I’ve been here ever since,” Aguillon said.

While working with solar industry groups to help shape what eventually became the CSI, she pushed for the inclusion of performance-based incentives instead of rebates. But the industry was divided on the idea.

“There were some in the solar industry who were afraid of getting paid over time — you put in a meter and get paid per kilowatt-hour,” Aguillon said.

They thought the customers would be used to rebates and that the market might crash.

But Aguillon continues to push performance-based incentives to this day, feeling that’s the best way to ensure quality work in the industry that can continue its rise rather than diminish its perception.

“The philosophy of Kyocera is to do what’s right as a human being,” Aguillon said. “But in the end, the commission ó it was the Public Utilities Commission who I think (understood) it.”

But her work since hasn’t focused solely on California. Kyocera is a member of more than a dozen state chapters of the Solar Energy Industries Association, and as head of marketing and government relations, she has to keep tabs on their progress, add to it where she can and visit them all.

Forever needing that passion to feel her place in the company is the right one, she has goals yet to meet that won’t likely have her leaving solar anytime soon, like promoting feed-in tariffs for solar energy, which she thinks will be the next big leg-up for the solar industry as the California Solar Initiative winds down.

“What keeps me going now is, I’m working in so many different states now,” Aguillon said.

She also working across international borders again, helping to influence hopeful and developing solar programs now in Mexico and other Latin American countries.

As for the whole “save the world” thing, Aguillon finds herself a bit modest these days, but nevertheless feels she’s making an impact.

“I don’t know if I’m saving the world, but I’m thinking I’m making the best effort I can, and what I love about it is I’m with a company that has never told me, ‘This is my business model, and this is what I want you to promote,’” Aguillon said. “It’s a company that says, ‘I want you to do what’s right for the human being.’”

Kazuo Inamori Publishes Amoeba Management

Amoeba Management by Kazuo Inamori, a new guide to stronger business leadership practices now available in select retail stores and online.

Amoeba Management: The Dynamic Management System for Rapid Market Response focuses on Inamori’s business philosophy and the unique leadership system he developed over decades, both as an entrepreneurial founder of high-tech companies and in guiding numerous other multinational, multi-billion dollar enterprises.

Inamori, creator of the Amoeba Management System, is widely regarded as Japan’s most respected living business leader. He advocates a business philosophy based on “doing the right thing as a human being” and involving all employees in management. Simple, precise micro-divisional accounting systems distribute management responsibility into small, self-supporting units called amoebas, which can help organizations achieve a high degree of flexibility to accommodate ever-changing markets. All amoeba members are encouraged to focus their creativity on accomplishing common goals. As amoebas develop creative ways to improve their own profit margins, productivity and cost structure, the enterprise as a whole becomes more profitable – while promoting leadership development at all levels.

Dr. Inamori is founder of Kyocera Corporation, his first company that is now a $14.5 billion supplier of telecommunications equipment, printers, copiers, solar power generating systems, ceramic components and semiconductor parts. He also founded DDI Corporation (now KDDI Corporation), a $43 billion telecommunications provider ranked number two in Japan. He is director and chairman emeritus of the recently re-listed Japan Airlines, joining the bankrupt airline in February 2010 at the request of the Japanese government and revamping the business to profitability in less than two years. He is also the creator of the Kyoto Prize, an international award for lifetime achievement that was created out of his belief that a human being has no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of society.

To read the entire article, please go HERE.

Discover Latest Programs and Products from Industry Leader Kyocera in Booth #3519 (with UMA Solar)

Kyocera Solar, Inc. (KSI) will showcase its industry-leading solar energy solutions and new programs as a “Watt” sponsor of the eighth annual Solar Power International (SPI) conference September 10-13 in Orlando, FL. Kyocera’s technical experts, as well as partners Enphase and UMA Solar, will highlight the companies’ innovative energy solutions and programs at UMA Solar’s booth (#3519) throughout the show.

Kyocera has been at the forefront of the solar energy revolution for more than 37 years, with reliable, proven photovoltaic solutions that highlight the company’s commitment to integrity, quality, environmental preservation and continuous improvement. As a result, solar power has become Kyocera’s fastest-growing business globally.

At SPI 2012, Kyocera is partnering with Enphase Energy and UMA Solar with representatives from each company on hand at the UMA Solar exhibit booth to answer questions about their industry-leading MyGen Flex kits paired with micro-inverters for residential and small commercial applications. Kyocera representatives will discuss details on an upcoming program for preferred partners and can also provide details about recent announcements, the company’s large-scale industrial installations and their vision for new developments in the solar industry including:

• Kyocera Solar Finance: a program designed in partnership with De Lage Landen Financial Services to provide loan and lease options to consumers seeking light commercial and mid-to-large commercial installations.
• Kyocera Training: in partnership with National Solar Trainers, Kyocera recently announced a wide array of IREC-certified (Interstate Renewable Energy Council) and NABCEP-registered (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) training options to its dealers nationwide in live, hands-on and online formats.
• East Coast Solar Warehouse: a new solar products warehouse in Cherry Hill, N.J. to augment Kyocera’s established distribution points in San Diego and Scottsdale, Ariz. The new warehouse will help ensure fast, cost-effective service for Kyocera customers on the U.S. East Coast.
• Kagoshima Mega Solar: a 70-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in southern Japan is being built by Kyocera and two other companies to help solve Japan’s power supply issues resulting from the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The plant will make a substantial contribution to environmental protection, including the reduction of CO2 emissions.
• AV Solar II: a 127MW, utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) installation in southwestern Arizona, of which KSI is supplying 34MW of its U.S.-made solar modules.

To reserve a time with a Kyocera rep, please contact Julie Capeloto at 
julie.capeloto@kyocera.com.

Feed-In Tariffs: A Good FIT for the U.S. Solar Market

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.

Under a FIT, the system owner gets paid only for the electricity they produce, thus creating a strong disincentive against technologies that are unproven or don’t perform well over time. The U.S. tax incentive system, by contrast, doesn’t reward the performance of a system at all — only the cost.

America’s investment tax credit works poorly for two reasons. First, not everyone who wants the benefits of clean, renewable energy can benefit from tax incentives. Second, since U.S. tax credits are based on the system’s cost, higher system prices are rewarded as a matter of policy — doing little to make solar energy more affordable for consumers.

“The U.S. needs a system — like a feed-in-tariff — that rewards performance,” said Tom Dyer, a 40-year industry veteran who recently retired as Kyocera Solar, Inc.’s vice president. “This would promote systems that are more likely to produce optimum power for decades, as opposed to incentivizing financial investment and de-emphasizing power production.”

Already, in Hawaii and parts of California, it’s as economical to install solar as it is to buy power from the grid, according to Dyer, which is known as grid parity. Grid parity is key to making solar energy more widely available, and the FIT program offers a fast track to get there.

In addition to providing solar product manufacturers with an incentive to improve system quality and long-term reliability, FITs can be designed to emphasize small installations close to home, rather than large utility-scale projects. This enables homeowners and business owners, the individual ratepayers, to benefit from “micro” power plants on rooftops throughout their city, producing power where it is used. This form of distributed generation helps to stabilize the grid, promotes efficiency by reducing transmission “line losses,” and reduces the need to build costly new transmission lines. And by using existing infrastructure – the rooftops of buildings where we already live and work – distributed generation won’t disturb protected lands or wildlife.

Europe and Japan have demonstrated that when a solar incentive program is based on actual power generation, owners get paid more for installing better-performing systems. If the system doesn’t produce energy, the owner doesn’t get paid. The investment and liability all rest on the owner of the system. And FITs can encourage the deployment of solar installations very quickly – hundreds can be installed at once, distributing economic development throughout many communities in the same way that distributed generation provides power “close to home.”

Because of these obvious benefits, some U.S. municipal utilities are actually creating FIT programs of their own on a voluntary basis. So why is there no active state-wide or national FIT program for the rest of America?

The problem seems to lie in a lack of understanding about the benefits of the FIT incentive model. Adopting a national FIT program will require utility companies and policymakers to undergo a paradigm shift. We are accustomed to thinking of wholesale energy in rigid terms, produced only by a central power plant in the middle of nowhere. National or state-wide FIT programs would make it more common for a collection of much smaller systems, integrated seamlessly into rooftops and parking lots, to power city blocks. However, getting there will require a new mentality that allows us to view roof-tops and parking lots as sites for small power plants.

FITs allow entire communities to “democratize” their energy production. Anybody can be a power producer. You and I can establish our own solar electricity generation plant on top of our own roofs and realize instant economic benefits. In Germany, church parishioners band together to install their own mini PV farms and sell the energy back to the community. It allows everybody to participate in producing renewable energy — not just those who are hungry for tax incentives.

People have heard that FITs make solar power too expensive because the contracted price paid for solar energy is too high, but this simply isn’t true. Those arguments consider only the nominal cost of electricity, ignoring the huge expense of importing power from outside the community through transmission lines that can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. FITs can delay, or in some cases prevent, the need for new transmission lines and bigger central power plants altogether.

To accurately judge the benefits of a FIT, we’ll need to consider the value of the kilowatt hour produced at the point of use. This will reveal the savings to ratepayers in the community that result from producing electricity right where it is used. With a FIT, the renewable energy is free – consumers only buy the ability to produce it.

The people of Japan appear to be on a fast track to national solar deployment, but they’re not alone. Nations all over the globe are investing in FITs to benefit from clean, renewable power that is locally produced, and generating thousands of jobs.

Isn’t it time for the U.S. to get FIT, too?

 

Cecilia Aguillon is director of market development and government policy for Kyocera Solar, Inc., recognized as a world-leading supplier of solar electric energy products since 1975.

Kyocera’s Pioneering Solar Energy Business Gears up for Further Growth

Mexico plays a strategic role in Kyocera’s solar module manufacturing plans, not only as a production hub but also as a potential growing market for the company’s solar solutions.

You may be familiar with Kyocera, a Japanese manufacturer of microelectronics packaging, industrial ceramics, cutting tools, solar panels, cell phones and office equipment. What you may not know is that Kyocera boasts a rich history of operations in Mexico, since Kyocera Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. (KMX) began manufacturing products in Tijuana, Baja California in 1989.

KMX has proved successful with a variety of manufacturing processes in the past 23 years. The hard-working employees of KMX have helped the company improve yield, reduce cycle time and lower defect rates on some of its most important products by executing complex technology transfers, adhering to the core principles of continued process improvement and a “customer-first” attitude.

“Tijuana has played a key role in Kyocera’s expansion, thanks to its pool of talented employees who have a strong commitment to producing high-quality products,” says John Rigby, President of Kyocera International, Inc., the firm’s San Diego-based North American headquarters and holding company. “Support from Mexican leaders and employees has made us stronger, and allowed us to serve more customers with high-value-added manufacturing,” he continues.

One area in which KMX has played a strategic role in Kyocera’s success is its solar module manufacturing expertise.

Kyocera has been in the renewable energy business since the 1970s, when Dr. Kazuo Inamori –who in 1959 founded Kyocera in Kyoto, Japan, producing  advanced ceramics– started researching sapphire crystal-growth technology and photovoltaic cells, believing the technology could be applied to growing silicon crystals. Abruptly, the OPEC oil embargo brought the global economy to a standstill –and convinced Inamori that renewable energy would become a global imperative.

Dr. Inamori’s instincts were dead on. By 1979, Kyocera became the first company in the world to successfully deliver silicon crystal-ribbon solar cells using the Edge-defined Film-fed Growth (EFG) method.

Over the years, Kyocera has developed production processes and in-house quality evaluation systems, allowing the company to ensure high quality by controlling every phase of manufacturing.

In 1982, the company was the first to mass-produce multi-crystalline silicon solar cells using the casting method, which is now the main technique used throughout the world.

This year marks the 37^th anniversary of Kyocera’s involvement in solar energy. Global demand for clean energy has created an explosion of new companies in fields ranging from geothermal power to biofuels. Although expectations are high, only a few companies worldwide have a long tradition of providing reliable renewable-energy solutions. Kyocera is among the most notable.

KMX began solar module production in Tijuana in 2004. In 2007, the company broke ground on its new, large-scale solar manufacturing facility in Tijuana, which represented an aggressive plan to more than double its annual solar capacity. KMX’s new, world-class production center –a two-story plant with 223,000 square feet of production space– for multi-crystalline silicon solar cells was inaugurated in 2009.

In 2010, the facility put the icing on the cake by installing a 100kW solar electric generating system on its roof. Now, in addition to manufacturing solar panels, KMX is producing clean, renewable power that flows directly from the sun through its solar array and into the power grid.

Today, KMX is Kyocera’s chief manufacturer of solar modules for North America; the plant’s production capacity continues to grow as demand for solar energy increases.

Global Expansion

Solar energy growth is inevitable. With more than 1.6 billion people worldwide lacking access to electricity, few technologies are in greater demand. A more affordable solar energy is a matter of enhancing technologies, raising the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells, and increasing mass production volumes.

Kyocera’s global solar production framework aims to manufacture solar panels near major markets to minimize the environmental impact and added costs of shipping the bulky and heavy solar modules from manufacturer to installation site. KMX supports both the North American and Mexican markets with its high-quality manufacturing processes.

Solar power offers a hedge against the rising cost of electricity, and serves as an environmental countermeasure to acid rain, ozone layer depletion and rising carbon levels. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that each GW of fossil-fuel electricity that we replace with solar power will reduce carbon dioxide as much as a forest covering about 289 square miles.

Due to their high reliability and efficiency, Kyocera modules have been employed in various installations ranging from utility-scale power plants, public and industrial facilities to residential homes all over the world.

“People all over the world are demanding an energy source that’s affordable, reliable and safe for the environment,” says Steve Hill, President of Kyocera Solar, Inc. “Thanks to the quality and dedication of our colleagues at KMX, that is exactly what Kyocera delivers,” he continues.

While most of the panels produced at KMX are for export, Kyocera recognizes potential in the Mexican solar market. “Kyocera is ready to expand its facility to accommodate this robust market and provide cost-effective solar solutions to Mexican consumers so they can enjoy clean, renewable energy from the sun,” concludes David Hester, President of KMX.

global.kyocera.com