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KYOCERA Solar Powers Veteran's Home with Western Maryland Solar's "Solar4Soliders" Project

December 2, 2013- Brittany Ratcliff, a United States Air Force Veteran, is the first recipient of Western Maryland Solar’s “Solar4Soldiers” project.  After returning home from deployment in Germany, Ratcliff was paralyzed from the waist down in an automobile accident.  Kyocera customer Ryan Ballard of Western Maryland Solar, a veteran himself, started the “Solar4Soldiers” program to give back to veterans in need of assistance. 

With the help of Kyocera Solar and other donors, Ratcliff is now able to enjoy a 2.93kW Solar array installed by Western Maryland Solar.  Ratcliff’s new solar installation, which exclusively uses high-efficiency, reliable Kyocera solar modules, will assist in providing energy for her home as well as her electric wheelchair. 

Using renewable energy is important to Ratcliff and she hopes that the project will help to educate and train local college students on sustainability, using herself as a case study.  Her grid-tied home installation is in the final stages of completion and should be up and running by Thanksgiving.

Kyocera’s 38 years of experience in the solar energy industry and unequaled expertise ensure that our high-performing systems continue to produce energy reliably for decades. Kyocera is pleased to provide its solar modules as the ideal choice for Brittany’s rooftop solar installation that will not only help to power her wheelchair with clean, renewable energy from the sun, but also serve as a model to teach local students about the importance of preserving the environment for future generations.

About KYOCERA
Kyocera is one of the world’s leading producers and suppliers of solar photovoltaic modules and systems. With a 38-year history of innovation in solar technology, the company is recognized as an industry pioneer and has set repeated world records in multicrystalline silicon cell efficiency. Kyocera serves thousands of residential and industrial customers in both developed and developing regions, with more than 3 gigawatts of solar collection equipment installed since 1975.

Kyocera Solar, Inc. is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona with regional sales affiliates in the Americas and Australia, and solar module manufacturing facilities operated by Kyocera Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. of Tijuana, Mexico.

Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO) (TOKYO:6971), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of fine (or “advanced”) ceramics. Kyocera specializes in combining these engineered materials with other technologies to create solar power generating systems, printers, copiers, mobile phones, electronic components, semiconductor packages, cutting tools and industrial components. During the year ended March 31, 2013, the company’s net sales totaled 1.28 trillion yen (approx. USD13.6 billion).