Mitsubishi Electric expands production to 50 MW

An expansion of production capacity completed in Jan. 2003 – from 24 MW in 2002 to 35 MW – wasn't enough for the Japanese cell and module manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. By September, it will increase capacity to 50 MW. 

© Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Bullet-proof PV roof: The Japanese bullet train, called Shinkansen, stops briefly under Mitsubishi Electric's 100 kW installation on the Takasaki train station.

The decision to expand a second time came sometime in the second quarter, says a Mitsubishi speaker who asked not to be named. He declined to reveal total expansion costs.

In January, the company, which operates a cell and module factory in Iida, Gifu prefecture, started a new module assembly facility in Nagaokakyo, Kyoto prefecture, and redesigned its production to produce lead-free cells and modules. This product has become so »widely accepted in the market,"« the source claims, that the decision to continue expansion came quickly. For PHOTON International's cell survey in March, Mitsubishi reported plans to increase capacity to only 38 MW by the end of 2003 (see PI 3/2003, p. 42). Expansion plans beyond its new 50 MW capacity will be dependent on whether Mitsubishi will reach its sales targets, the source says. For FY 2003, it plans to increase totals sales to ¥21 billion ($176 million), a 50 percent increase over 2002's ¥14 
billion ($117 million).

Bruce Carnevale
© PHOTON International, July 2003