The Kyocera
panels are well made and have a proven
history that shows they are durable and trouble free in the
marine environment.
Solar power is by far the most reliable means of producing
power on a yacht and the Kyocera panels seem especially good in this regard.
The only drawback is the Kyocera panels are mostly around 14% efficient. I don't think they produce any high effeciency panels. This was very good a few years ago, but panels are now available with efficiencies of 21% and higher. Watt for watt in terms of production the extra panel efficiency is of little consequence. So a 100w 21% effecient will produce the same power as a 100w 14% effecient panel all other things being equal. In practice, the high efficiency panels also tend to produce a little more power under low light and hot conditions, but the main advantage is that we can get more rated wattage in the same area.
To put some numbers on the difference, for the same area, a 21% efficient panel will be rated at 50% more watts than a panel that is 14% efficient. Given the limited space available on most
boats this is a significant help.
On my existing
boat I fitted Kyocera panels, the best available when they were purchased. On my
new boat I will fitting Sunpower panels, which I think are now the best. One interesting dilemma is that the Kyocera panels on my
current yacht are still functioning perfectly and are likely to continue to do so for another couple of decades, but they could be upgraded to gain 50% more power in the same space.