In the UK, Kyocera is perhaps best known for the high-performance print and copy equipment it produces for small and large business enterprises, but there’s a lot more to this Japanese manufacturer.
Kyocera produce a range of innovative components that feature in a wide range of products, not only for the office, but for the home, for transport and communication systems and for renewable energies, many of which we use without realising it.
But, regardless of visibility or scale, everything they produce is built with Kyocera’s organisational philosophy in mind: that technology should enhance the lives of the individuals and corporations that use it without compromising the environment.
That philosophy lies behind their latest, highly ambitious venture.
In partnership with the Century Tokyo Leasing Corp and Ciel et Terre International (Sky & Earth), Kyocera have announced plans to develop the world’s largest floating solar panel installation in Japan.
This plant, which will be developed in two grand-scale units at Japan’s Nishihira and Higashihira Ponds in Kato City, will generate a total of 2.9 megawatts (MW) of power, enough to cater for approximately 920 households.
Construction is due to commence this month and is planned for completion in April 2015.
This is not the first solar power plant that Kyocera have invested their technologies and expertise in but it is the largest, and it marks the beginning of yet more floating solar stations planned for Japan which has a scarcity of land but an abundance of reservoirs and lakes to build upon.
Sanae Iwasaki, a spokesperson for Kyocera told Bloomberg news that this initial construction will be developed further; around 30 additional solar stations are planned, which will generate up to 60 megawatts of power between them.
Solar power is a rapidly developing field of expertise and industry, providing not only a green alternative to carbon-producing fossil fuels, but creating jobs and helping to develop knowledge which makes solar more effective, more affordable and most importantly, more widespread.
In the UK, it’s estimated that there are now in excess of half a million homes equipped with solar panels on feed-in-tariffs which have contributed “more than 1.8GW of capacity to the [National] grid.”
Although it’s unclear what percentage of those panels are manufactured by Kyocera, it’s clear that their solar products are making waves across the globe.
In Spain, Thailand and Australia, where solar strength and environmental conditions vary, Kyocera’s solar modules have consistently shown that they produce the highest energy output which in ‘real-life’ exceeds the company’s own, modest ‘pre-installation power estimates.’
To business users in the UK who are familiar with the high quality of Kyocera’s products, this perhaps comes as no surprise.
Their technology time and time again exceeds expectations in terms of performance, in providing value for money and in demonstrating environmental respect. Their range of Ecosys photocopiers has won several awards in recognition of their unrivalled “reliability, image quality and environmental features.”
To find out more about how your business can benefit from state-of-the-art, environmentally engineered printing technologies, contact Kyocera’s approved UK supply partners at Copylogic on 020 8901 4700.