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Kobe Steel begins module production using RWE cells

Kobe Steel reported to supply Japanese homebuilder Misawa with 500 PV systems. Kobe Steel will build a module factory in Japan.

	© Kobe Steel Ltd.
All in the family: Misawa Homes, which was Kobe Steel’s first module customer, is the main tenant in the Minami Daiichi Building in Kobe, Japan. The building, opened last June, includes a 76 kW BIPV system supplied by Kobe Steel using RWE Solar modules.

On Dec. 25, Kobe Steel Ltd. of Japan signed an agreement to supply Japanese homebuilder Misawa Homes Co. Ltd. with the equipment for 500 PV systems. Kobe Steel has had a deal with RWE Solar GmbH (formerly ASE) since 1998 to market the German cell manufacturer’s modules in Japan. But in November, as its list of orders grew, it decided to start its own module production. The modules will use RWE’s string ribbon (EFG) polycrystalline cells. The Japanese conglomerate, one of the leading steel manufacturers in the country, is aiming for a 10 MW capacity. Press spokesman Gary Tsuchida could not say when that level would be reached. »We are nowhere near that point,« he says, adding that Kobe Steel will produce the modules to meet demand.

The modules for the Misawa deal, which are being produced at the company’s Takasago Works factory in Hyogo, Japan, include 65 W, 95 W, and two triangle-shaped 53 W panels. Kobe Steel will also produce RWE’s models ASE-100, ASE-250, and ASE-300 for BIPV applications, including glass/glass options. All of the products will carry the Kobe Steel brand. To date, Kobe Steel has only supplied 20 kW for residential units and 600 kW in the commercial sector. According to Tsuchida, PV sales amounted to ¥500 million ($3.8 million) in FY 2000. Another ¥2 billion ($15.2 million) is estimated for FY 2001, which ends in March 2002. Tsuchida expects sales for FY 2002 to reach ¥3 billion ($22.8 million). While the modules are intended for the Japanese market, he says exports are a possibility in the future.

Tsuchida says the average system on the Misawa homes will be between 3.5 and 4 kW. Misawa will install the systems based on demand from purchasers. They will be paid for by the new homeowners, who will receive rebates of ¥120,000 ($912) per kilowatt from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Tsuchida did not say how much the systems would cost. wph