Kyocera announced plans to install a 251 kilowatt solar electric generating facility at its North American headquarters and Kearny Mesa plant, in San Diego, CA., using 1,680 Kyocera KC-167G solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and 210 custom-manufactured light-filtering PV modules arrayed to form a carport in an employee parking lot.
The Kyocera carport PV system is planned to be completed in September 2004.
Said Rodney N. Lanthorne, President of Kyocera International, Inc., and director of the global parent, Kyocera Corporation, "We will focus our rapidly growing grid-connected solar energy business in the San Diego region. The planned carport is intended to showcase Kyocera's solar technology and its practical applications."
A stable supply of electricity is critical to Kyocera's Kearny Mesa plant, where the manufacturing process depends on electric kilns. Because products "in-process" can be ruined if a kiln cools unexpectedly, a prolonged power outage could result in a substantial loss. To guard against this, the company adopted a strategy of energy independence for the factory in the late 1980s, building a 3.2-megawatt natural-gas driven cogeneration facility, and a 50kW rooftop PV system that the planned carport system will replace. Without the power provided through cogeneration and PV resources, Kyocera's Kearny Mesa facility would rank among the top five non-governmental consumers of utility-supplied electricity in San Diego County; using these resources, however, the facility will be up to 100% energy independent.
"The economic viability of PV systems like this represents a milestone for businesses throughout California," said Steve Hill, President of Kyocera Solar, Inc., which is supplying the system. "By installing this system on a Kyocera facility, we are setting a benchmark for commercial PV installations, and jump-starting the solar revolution in San Diego."
Kyocera Solar, Inc. is a world-leading supplier of environmentally sound, solar electric energy solutions. With operating headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz., and regional sales centers in Brazil and Australia, Kyocera Solar, Inc. serves thousands of customers in both developed and developing regions. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kyocera International, Inc. of San Diego, the North American headquarters and holding company for Kyoto, Japan-based Kyocera Corporation.
Loading...