INTERVIEW-UPDATE 1-Kyocera eyes solar panel growth in Japan

* Kyocera logs stronger solar panel orders in Japan - pres

* Kyocera solar orders in Europe up from weak Jan-March

KYOTO, June 19 - Kyocera Corp, fighting to hold its own in a competitive solar panel market, is banking on a revival of state subsidies in Japan to bolster sales, and said orders for its panels in Europe were recovering.

Kyocera, which has been losing market share amid price competition with bigger rivals Q-Cells, First Solar and Suntech, has seen a jump in orders for solar panels this year in Japan, its president said on Friday.

Japan is also home to Sharp Corp and Sanyo Electric Co, which along with Kyocera are pioneers in solar panels, but the market remains small amid on-again, off-again state support for the technology.

"There's a strong tailwind in Japan," Kyocera President Tetsuo Kuba told Reuters in an interview. "This year (the strength of orders) is completely different."

Kyocera, the world's sixth-biggest solar panel maker in 2008 according to market researcher PV News, logged an annual 50 percent rise in the number of orders in Japan for solar panels to be used on household rooftops in January to April.

In January, the Japanese government introduced a subsidy of 70,000 yen ($723) per kilowatt of solar panel equipment and aims next year to guarantee prices for surplus electricity produced by household solar panels.

That is helping the Kyoto-based firm, which has been hurt by sluggish orders for solar panels in Europe following subsidy cuts in Germany and in Spain.

"There is still room to grow, and orders are recovering a little" in Europe after a weak January-March, mostly from households and companies, Kuba said. "We will seek more growth outside of Spain."

Kyocera, which also makes electronic parts and mobile phones, hopes to expand its presence by selling its panels at retailer Aeon Co Ltd's shopping centres and shore up its brand by supplying panels for Toyota Motor Corp's Prius hybrid car.

Kyocera has no concrete plans now to supply solar panels to other automakers but would not rule out such a move in the future, Kuba said.

The company, which has been cautious about expanding panel production, will likely spend the bulk of its planned 43 billion yen in capital expenditures for the year to March on its solar panels, Kuba said.

Kyocera does not provide a breakdown of its capital spending plans, which it cut by 30 percent from the previous year.

"Solar is the exception," said Kuba. "The main part of our spending this year will be on solar."