12 December 2011 - Kyoto / Neuss − The solar industry in Italy is still on the rise, as high levels of energy production owing to favourable sunlight conditions and an attractive feed-in tariff promote the expansion of renewable solar energy. The Japanese technology company Kyocera, one of the leading manufacturers in the field of photovoltaics, has recently delivered an additional 10 MWp of solar modules for an existing 6 MWp installation near Turin in Cigliano, Italy.
The additional output of 10 MWp is distributed equally between the "Lotti" and "Petiva" sites. 20,640 KD240GH-2PB Kyocera modules were installed at each of the two plants. Owing to its high efficiency, the large module is particularly suitable for installation in industrial and open-space facilities. With 60 cells, the Kyocera module has a performance of 240 Wp.
Recently completed, these new plants supplement an existing 6 MWp solar plant located in the Piedmont region, which is operated by Kyocera’s partner Enermill. With an expanded total output of 16 MWp, the Enermill solar park is the largest installation in Italy to use Kyocera modules. The solar park is comprised of 41,280 Kyocera KD240GH-2PB modules, 13,920 KD215GH-2PU modules, and 12,900 KD235GH-2PB modules. The park can produce approximately 20 GWh of solar electricity, which is the equivalent energy requirement of 4,500 households, and off-set 18,000 tons of CO2 annually. The Enermill solar park covers an area of 22ha.
Sunny future for the solar energy sector in Italy
Italy is one of the most important markets for solar energy in Europe. According to the GSE — an authority founded by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance for the promotion of renewable energies — in this year alone additional photovoltaic installations with an output of 6.5 GWp have been completed as of September. Furthermore, the sustainable production of electricity using photovoltaics is promoted by the Italian government with a feed-in tariff, for which the rates are considerably attractive in comparison to other European countries.
Kyocera Solar: high quality for exceptional performance
Kyocera has been developing solar cells for photovoltaics since 1975 and is regarded as a pioneer in the field. The company covers the entire value chain, from processing the raw material through to module assembly. This results in solar modules of a particularly high quality. By 2013, Kyocera aims to generate a production capacity of one gigawatt (GWp) per year.
