News

KYOCERA Solar Modules Achieve "Performance Leader" Rating in GTM Research's Reliability Scorecard

KYOCERA is Only Manufacturer to Earn Highest Rating Across All PV Module Tests

Scottsdale, AZ – August 25, 2014 – Kyocera Corporation announced today that Kyocera is the only solar module manufacturer to rank as a Performance Leader in all six categories in independent testing by PV Evolution Labs, as reported in GTM Research’s July 2014 PV Module Reliability Scorecard.

The report ranks performance of the 15 participating manufacturers in three categories: Performance Leaders, Middle Performers or Low Performers.

“With the exception of one manufacturer, Kyocera, no company consistently ranked within the Performance Leaders group for all test regimens,” GTM Research noted. “Results showed that most producers that performed well in one test did not necessarily perform well in all tests.”

The tests included Temperature Cycling, Dynamic Mechanical Load, Humidity Freeze, Damp Heat, and two Potential Induced Degradation Tests – both Positive and Negative. PV Evolution Labs’ stringent test protocols exceeded the current industry standards to emulate various real-world climatic conditions over lifetime periods while observing power degradation performance of the solar modules being evaluated.

“Kyocera has proven time and again, both in independent testing and by solar modules performing uninterruptedly in the field for decades, that our modules are able to consistently produce clean, renewable energy even in the harshest conditions,” said Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar Inc. “GTM Research’s Reliability Scorecard is an important tool for investors and developers who seek independent verification that Kyocera modules exceed world-class levels of quality and reliability and are the best choice for their solar installations.”

Kyocera solar modules consistently demonstrate high reliability:

• In March 2014, Kyocera solar modules passed TUV Rheinland’s rigorous Salt Mist Corrosion Test, Edition 2, Severity Level 6.

• Kyocera modules are certified PID (Potential Induced Degradation) resistant, exhibiting no performance degradation after high-voltage stress testing, by the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics.

• Kyocera solar modules were the first in the world to be certified by TÜV Rheinland’s Long-Term Sequential Test in 2010.

• Kyocera solar modules have shown to be the best long-term-performing modules in the systems that were installed and began operation in October 2008 at Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre (DKA), a government-funded public showcase of solar installations.*

“Two-thirds of today’s cumulative solar capacity has been installed within the last three years, and PV installations are forecast to quadruple by the end of the decade, growing from 128.3 GW at the end of 2013 to 528.1 GW by the end of 2020,” GTM Research stated.
 
To learn more about Kyocera Solar solutions for both residential and commercial projects in the U.S. and Latin America, please contact infosolar@kyocera.com or +1-800-223-9580.

*Desert Knowledge Australia, the Australian Government, the Northern Territory Government and the project managers, CAT Projects, do not endorse, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the outcomes and conclusions associated with the use of data from the Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre.

About KYOCERA
Kyocera is one of the world’s leading producers and suppliers of solar photovoltaic modules and systems. With a 39-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 5 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 fiscal year ended March 31, 2014, the company’s consolidated net sales totaled 1.45 trillion yen (approx. $14.1 billion USD).