Solar Cells Info

Meeting the actively growing market demand, with future potential increases possible
Tokyo, February 16, 2009
Source: Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd press release
http://www.sanyo.com/news/2009/02/16-1en.html

SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (SANYO) announces that it will increase production capacity for HIT solar cells by building new production facilities inside the grounds of the Nishikinohama Factory (Kaizuka City, Osaka), already a production base for SANYO’s proprietary HIT solar cells, to meet active demand for solar power generation equipment around the world.  The new building construction will begin on February 17, and is expected to reach completion by October 2009. While reviewing the market conditions, production is expected to start immediately to be better able to respond to market demands, and thereafter considered with a view to increase the facilities’ productivity as necessary.

Currently, production for SANYO’s world-recognized HIT solar cells is performed at the Nishikinohama Factory as well as the Shimane Plant, Shimane SANYO Electric (Unnan City, Shimane Prefecture), with a combined production capacity total of 340MW. While augmenting the Nishikinohama Factory, the overall production capacity will also be increased by adding production equipment to the existing Shimane Plant with the goal of reaching around 600MW by the end of FY2010 for HIT Solar Cell production capacity.

With the re-emergence of the “Residential Solar Power Generation System Subsidy” in Japan, the Japanese market is expected to grow. Also, with government measures being implemented in the various countries of Europe and America, there are proactive investments and efforts to install solar power generation systems, indicating that these will become mid- to long-term growth markets.

SANYO, with its proprietary HIT solar cells and panels, plans to continue to grow its unique solar business, aiming to reach a production scale of approximately 2GW for HIT solar cells by 2020.
For thin-film solar cells, SANYO will work with Nippon Oil Corporation through the joint venture company, SANYO ENEOS Solar Co., Ltd., as announced on January 23rd this year, to expand this segment of the solar market.

Outline of the Nishikinohama Factory New Building

Factory address:
15-2, Nishikiminami-cho, Kaizuka City, Osaka Prefecture
Building area:
18,000m2 (3-stories, new factory area)
Completion date:October 2009  Operations start:  End of 2010
Investment amount:
Approx. 6 billion yen (structure only)

HIT Solar Cell Production Capacity  — FY2006  —  FY2007  —  End of FY2008
Nishikinohama Factory  —  115MW  —  210MW  —  210MW
Shimane SANYO Electric Co.  —  50MW  —  50MW  —  130MW
Total  —  165MW  —  260MW  —  340MW

* HIT stands for Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer.
The HIT Solar Cell is a uniquely-structured hybrid-type solar cell developed by SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., which uses a crystalline silicon substrate and amorphous silicon thin film. Its high conversion efficiency and superior temperature characteristics enable the world’s highest power generation per installation area (as of Febrary 16, 2009).