Mitsubishi Bets Big on Solar

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TOKYO, JP -- Editor's Note: This is an updated version that corrects the amount of Mitsubishi's investment.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. plans to spend millions of dollars quadrupling production of photovoltaic cells to take advantage of the skyrocketing demand for solar power caused by high fuel prices and climate change concerns.

The company said Tuesday it will speed up its capital investment plan and spend 50 billion yen (US$458 million) driving up production capacity to 600 megawatts by 2012 when it predicts the worldwide market will top 4,430 megawatts.

Mitsubishi’s generation capacity now tops 150 megawatts of capacity. In March, Mitsubishi said it wanted to boost capacity to 500 megawatts by 2013.

Mitsubishi plans to build a new factory in Nagano Prefecture that will sport a rooftop solar power installation. Completion is slated for December 2009.

The company said combining its multi-crystal silicon cell technology with PV inverters results in a 97.5 percent energy conversion efficiency rate. Mitsubishi will sell the solar power systems worldwide. It entered the residential PV market in 1996.

In October, Mitsubishi announced a long-term environmental framework that calls for reducing a third of the emissions associated with the use of its products. It also includes using more efficient equipment at production sites and cutting the amount of materials used in its operations by 30 percent.

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