Kyocera Working To Bring 22%-Efficient Solar Panels To Residential Market
Solar panels possessing impressively high efficiencies — up to 22% — may be available for residential use in Japan within only the next few years, if Kyocera gets it way anyways, based on recent comments made by the noted Japanese solar module manufacturer.
The comments came as part of the company’s recent announcement that it will begin supplying a monocrystalline panel to the Japanese residential solar market very soon (by the summer). The move will make Kyocera the only manufacturer to mass-produce both monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar modules in the country.
As it stands currently, the monocrystalline modules that will be available will possess an efficiency of 19%, but the company is aiming to bring that number up to 22% within only a few years.
The move is in response to the relatively high demand for rooftop solar in Japan — even though FiT rates for large-solar PV projects in Japan have recently been reduced significantly, residential FiT rates are still pretty good. It’s currently expected that residential rooftop FiT rates will be reduced only by around 2.6% this year — not really a significant drop, so solar adoption in the residential sector isn’t likely to fall much.
For those of our readers that are currently salivating — unfortunately, there are no plans currently to sell the new modules in any markets except the Japanese one.
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