Sanyo to Increase HIT Solar Cell Production

Copyright Sanyo Electric Co.

Sanyo Electric Co., one of Japan's leading electronics manufacturers, began construction of a new plant for HIT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer) solar cells on February 17, 2009, in order to meet an increasing demand for solar power generation. The new production facility is being built in the Nishikinohama Factory, the company's HIT solar cell production base in Osaka, and is planned to be completed in October 2009. Sanyo expects its domestic HIT solar cell production capacity to be 600 megawatts in fiscal 2010, with the new plant in operation.

Sanyo developed the HIT solar cell, a hybrid of single crystalline silicon surrounded by ultra-thin amorphous silicon layers, and began commercial production in 1997. These cells have world's highest conversion efficiency (as of February 2009) and the bifacial solar panels save energy and resources in power generation.

The Japanese market for the photovoltaic system is expected to grow, particularly due to the reinstatement of the Residential Solar Power Generation System Subsidy. In Europe and the United States, proactive governmental measures are being implemented, indicating that these markets will also expand in the medium- and long-term. The company plans to increase the HIT solar cell production scale to 2 gigawatts by fiscal 2020.

The Spread of Solar Power Generation in Japan No.70 (June 2008)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/
027851.html
Ministry Recommends that Solar Power Output to Rise 55 Times by 2030 (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/028982.html

Posted: 2009/07/23 06:00:15 AM