Kyocera Solar opens new PV module plant in Tijuana, Mexico

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Mexican President Felipe Calderón was among government and company officials on hand Feb. 5 to inaugurate Kyocera Solar’s second PV module manufacturing plant in Tijuana, Mexico. The two-story production facility, which connects to the pre-existing Kyocera panel fab, will have a maximum annual output of 750,000 crystalline-silicon modules, equivalent to a nameplate capacity of 150 MW.
 
President Calderón also announced his intention to implement a large-scale program of renewable energy in Mexico, which will include Mexican-made solar modules such as those produced at Kyocera.

“Kyocera gives us a clear case of how we can transform critical moments into new opportunities using long-term vision,” he said through an interpreter. “I know that Kyocera will sell these panels quickly as warm bread, even before the U.S. economy recovers, especially with a society that is clearly looking to renewable energy, such as California.”

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar, compared the current economic recession with the downturn of 1973, which had been caused by the world’s first energy crisis and global dependence on fossil fuels. That recession ended with at least one favorable development.

“It was in 1973 that Kyocera’s founder, Dr. Kazuo Inamori, began researching solar energy,” he said. “Today, solar energy products represent Kyocera’s fastest-growing business worldwide.”

The new facility is part of the company’s multiyear plan to expand its global manufacturing capacity for solar modules, which are made in Mexico, the Czech Republic, Japan, and China, where construction on the new plant in Tianjin City is scheduled to begin in April, with the facility coming online in 2010. By the end of March 2012, the company’s four regional sites will have 650 MW in combined annual capacity.

Kyocera has said it expects to invest an estimated 30 billion yen (about $300 million) in plant and equipment during the course of the expansion plan, both at these module manufacturing sites and at its solar-cell production center in Yohkaichi, Japan.

Read Next

October 8, 2025
The NSW Independent Planning Commission has granted planning approval for Potentia Energy's 500MW Tallawang solar-plus-storage project.
October 8, 2025
US solar module prices jumped in Q3 2025 as developers scrambled to meet the 2 September 2025 safe harbour deadline for Investment Tax Credit (ITC) qualification, according to supply chain platform Anza.
October 8, 2025
Despite policy headwinds on the federal level, there is optimism for the future of the US solar and storage sector.
Premium
October 8, 2025
PV Talk: Smart Energy Council's Nigel Morris reflects on how Australia has become a global testbed for distributed solar and storage innovation.
October 8, 2025
Officials from Norway and Egypt have agreed provisional terms for the financing of the Dandara solar park in Egypt, which is being built and operated by Norwegian IPP Scatec.
October 8, 2025
University of Sydney scientists have created the largest and most efficient triple-junction perovskite-perovskite-silicon solar cell on record.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK