Why Choose Sharp - Our Solar Heritage

Sharp are far and away the world leader in the evolution and production of the advanced technology to harness the sun's power through Solar PV cells.

This global leadership comes from a long history of pioneering work in the development of solar cells that began as early as 1959, when few had the foresight to see the huge potential benefits.

From this flying start we were able to quickly lead the way forward, reaching a significant landmark with the installation of what was the world’s largest solar power system at the Nagasaki lighthouse.

Moving on just twelve months, we were already working on solar cells for space travel – before man had even walked on the moon. Today, well over a hundred satellites circle our planet, efficiently performing their complex functions thanks to Sharp solar technology.

Here on earth, over 100,000 of our solar systems are providing power in countries around the globe, with output continuing to grow. All of which has helped to establish Sharp as the world’s number one in solar power.

1959 Pioneering period Sharp begins developing solar cells 1963 Mass production Sharp starts large scale production of solar cells 1966 New landmark Sharp installs the world’s largest PV power system on Nagasaki lighthouse 1967 Sun, moon, stars Sharp develops solar cells for space travel 1976 Up, up and away Sharp installs the first PV system onto a Japanese satellite 1980 Solar summed up Sharp launches the first solarpowered calculator 1992 Cellular Success Sharp starts developing polycrystalline silicon solar cells 1993 Home at Last Sharp launches the first PV system for home use 2000 Solar Supremo Sharp leads the world in the production of solar cells and is awarded the Japanese ‘New Energy Award’ 2004 Let the sunshine in Sharp installs its 100,000th PV system and production capacities reach an annual volume of 300MW 2006 Moving ahead Sharp introduce new thin film technology 2007 Production increases Global solar cell production capacity expands to 710MW