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

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

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

April 23, 2025
Germany’s latest public auction for ground-mounted solar PV capacity ended “significantly oversubscribed”, according to the German electricity regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur.
Premium
April 23, 2025
The latest polysilicon pricing report from the Silicon Industry Branch reveals a lukewarm spot market with modest price drops.
April 23, 2025
Solar Media will host a panel discussion on European manufacturing at this year’s Intersolar Europe event, at the company’s stand on 7 May.
Premium
April 23, 2025
Analysis: Carrie Xiao explores the factors behind the recent cancellation of China’s PV module mega-tender and their wider implications for equipment procurement.
April 23, 2025
The recent tariffs on Chinese products, along with the now paused global tariffs from other countries, are expected to have a minimal impact on US-based microinverter manufacturer Enphase Energy.
April 23, 2025
Italian renewable energy developer Limes has sold a 287MW portfolio of solar PV and wind power projects to an unnamed “international independent power producer (IPP)”.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
April 23, 2025
Fortaleza, Brazil
Solar Media Events
April 29, 2025
Dallas, Texas
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
May 7, 2025
Munich, Germany
Solar Media Events
May 21, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA