Mitsubishi Electric Opens Its 2nd PV Cell Production Facility

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has completed construction of PV Cell Plant #2, a new photovoltaic (PV) cell production facility at its Nakatsugawa Works Iida Factory in Nagano Prefecture. By March 2011, the company will raise its annual PV cell/module production capacity by 50 megawatts (MW) to 270MW, and ultimately plans to reach an annual capacity of 600MW at an early stage.

The global PV market is expected to grow from 5,550MW in fiscal 2009 (April 2008 – March 2009) to approximately 8,000MW in fiscal 2012 (April 2011 – March 2012), with the introduction of new PV-related stimulus programs in Japan, feed-in-tariff systems spreading in Europe, as well as projected growth in the North American market. Mitsubishi Electric‘s expansion of production capacity is in response to this sharp increase in global demand for PV systems.

Adding to its current lineup of polycrystalline silicon PV modules, Mitsubishi Electric plans to install new equipment at its Iida Factory to manufacture monocrystalline silicon PV cells, and start production by March 2011. At the same time, the company will build new production lines to manufacture monocrystalline silicon PV modules at its Nakatsugawa Works Kyoto Factory in Kyoto Prefecture. Monocrystaline silicon PV modules will enable PV systems to generate relatively more electricity on limited surfaces compared to polycrystalline silicon PV modules.
Furthermore, using the technologies that enabled Mitsubishi Electric to achieve the world’s highest photoelectric conversion efficiency of 19.3% in a 150mm x 150mm polycrystalline silicon PV cell, the company plans to develop highly efficient monocrystalline silicon PV cells. Mitsubishi Electric intends to incorporate these PV cells in its future PV modules.

In addition, to respond mainly to the large increase in demand for PV inverters for residential-use in the 2/3
Japanese market, Mitsubishi Electric will raise its monthly PV inverter production capacity at its Nakatsugawa Works by 50% from 4,000 units to 6,000 units in May 2010.

global.mitsubishielectric.com

Research Predicts PV Market To Be Worth US$38.1B By 2014

A new market research report published by MarketsandMarkets, ‘Concentrated Photovoltaic and Solar Photovoltaic Global Markets (2009 – 2014)’, predicts the total concentrated photovoltaic market to be worth US$266.0 million by 2014, growing at a CAGR of 33.0% from 2009 to 2014. Europe is expected to command the maximum market share at 59.3%, followed by the Americas, which are expected to hold 32% of the global concentrated photovoltaic market.

The Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) market includes the submarkets for Low Concentration Photovoltaic (LCPV), Medium Concentration Photovoltaic (MCPV), and High Concentration Photovoltaic (HCPV). The CPV market is still in a nascent stage but is developing rapidly due to the finite nature of non-renewable sources of energy, and the increasing demand for higher output and green energy. The CPV market is estimated to reach $266.0 million in 2014 from about $63.9 million in 2009.

Among all segments, HCPV commands the largest share of global CPV market, and is also expected to have the highest CAGR of 39.1% from 2009 to 2014. The conversion of HCPV systems lowers land requirement, and facilitates higher energy output at lower costs. HCPV technology is thus expected to achieve cost parity with conventional sources of electricity at a faster rate than other CPV technologies.

The initial high growth opportunity for the CPV market lies in regions with high direct normal irradiance (DNI) or direct solar radiation and high cost of grid electricity. These regions include southwest America, southwest Europe, western and central Australia, the Middle East, and northern Africa. While technology developments in the CPV systems market are currently concentrated in Spain, Germany, and the U.S.; government support for CPV technologies in countries such as India, China, Japan, and Australia are expected to drive future market growth.

The global solar PV market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 12.5% during 2009 – 2014 to reach $38.1 billion in 2014. Crystalline silicon PV holds the largest market share of 82%; while the thin film silicon market is expected to have highest growth rate of 28.2% from 2009 to 2014.

www.marketsandmarkets.com