Kyocera to set up joint venture in China to make solar panels

Kyocera is planning to set up a joint venture in Tianjin, China, with a local company to make and sell solar panels for use in power generation, a company official said. It will be the first time for Kyocera to produce solar panels overseas and is in line with expectations that China will be a big market, the official said.

The company official said Kyocera will ship its solar cells to China, and the joint venture in Tianjin will process and assemble them into solar panels. Kyocera is also negotiating with the Chinese company to set up a separate joint venture to sell a wide range of its products in China, the company official said.
He said a decision has yet to be made on when the companies will be set up and when production of the panels will begin. Solar panels are expected to be in increasing demand in China as the worsening natural environment in the country will likely create a large market for solar energy.

Kyocera currently produces 60 MW worth of solar cells a year in Japan at its factory in Yokaichi, Shiga Prefecture, and assembles them into panels at its plant in Ise, Mie Prefecture. As demand for the solar cells is strong both in Japan and overseas, the company expects to increase annual production to 72 MW by the end of this year.
"We will continue production in Japan because demand is growing," a Kyocera spokesman said.