Japan’s Mitsubishi plans big expansion in solar power
Tokyo, Aug 26, 2008
Source: AFP / http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hKDz0BRmiysApQu6hLiGhfCP-tMQ
Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corp. said Wednesday it will spend 50 billion yen (458 million dollars) to boost solar power cell production four-fold by early 2012 amid growing interest in renewable energies. The group said it will build a new facility on the site of an existing plant in Nagano Prefecture to step up production of photovoltaic cells in response to a sharp increase in demand for solar power generation systems.
“This market is expected to grow globally by about 20 percent every year,” said Aiji Suzuki, director of Mitsubishi Electric’s main solar panel plant. “The demand for solar power will likely reach 5,550 megawatts by 2012.” The company aims to increase its solar power cell production to 600 megawatts by early 2012 from the current 150 megawatts level, he said.
Mitsubishi Electric, which exports about 80 percent of its solar power cells, mainly to Europe, said demand in the United States was expected to expand significantly over the coming years. Mitsubishi Electric shares closed up 1.5 percent at 937 yen.
Japan, which has virtually no natural energy resources of its own, aims to take the lead in environmentally friendly energy. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has set a target to raise the use of solar cells 10-fold from present levels by 2020, with the government considering subsidies and tax breaks for households turning to solar power.