KYOCERA To Combine Solar With Lithium Ion Battery Power For Residential Use In Japan

By this summer, residents in Japan will have a new clean and cost-effective option for powering their homes.

Photo courtesy of Green Solar and Wind Power.

The partnership between KYOCERA Corp. and Nichicon Corp. has finally born results. They’ve created a new – home installed - power generating and energy management system, using solar power combined with lithium ion storage capacity required for meeting Japan’s growing residential energy needs.

KYOCERA says that the new system will offer multiple operating modes to meet the varying energy uses needed of different consumers.

The system is designed to accommodate customers “whether their peak energy consumption occurs in the daytime or at night; and for families who want to prioritize reducing their energy bills,” says KYOCERA, adding that system should also be considered by “those that place a premium on having a guaranteed electricity supply.”

KYOCERA says that the “system automatically switches to independent operation in the event of a natural disaster or electricity blackout. In the event of a prolonged blackout, the battery can be charged directly by the solar modules during the day, allowing users to draw from the battery at night or during inclement (severe) weather.”

The lithium ion battery has a high capacity of 7.1 kWh, which KYOCERA says can roughly last five times longer than conventional lead-acid batteries.

KYOCERA believes that it has a strong market projection for the new energy system, expecting that “up through the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, more than one million homes in Japan will have installed solar power.”

The company bases its projections on the hope that residents in Japan will feel an incentive toward solar stemming from Japan’s restart of the national subsidy program for residential solar power generating systems in January 2009, and the feed-in tariff, which were started in November of the same year.

The Japanese government has also agreed on a maximum three-year subsidy program, worth 21 billion yen for the use of stationary lithium ion battery energy storage systems starting this fiscal year.

KYOCERA’s hope is that, “As this year is the starting point for the subsidies, it is expected that market growth will begin in earnest from here on.”

Distribution of the energy system will be made available through company’s subsidiary, Kyocera Solar Corp., which is in charge of domestic sales of solar power generating systems.

Besides KYOCERA’s projected growth in Japan’s residential market, the company is also expanding on the commercial side of solar market in both Japan and abroad.

Kyocera Solar Corp. has just launched its highest-output solar module, the 80-cell KD 315, which the company says is “ideal for large scale installations like solar-covered parking.” This system is also available to U.S. customers.

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