Japanese electronics company Panasonic is planning on building a new solar cell factory in Malaysia. The company has said it will spend 45 billion yen ($582 million) on the factory that will make solar cells – a key component in solar panels – that are capable of generating 300 megawatts of power.
The plans are thought to be an attempt to cut production costs caused by surging yen, amidst a struggling solar energy and solar panel industry in Japan. The rapidly growing Chinese market for solar panels is causing a global surplus, making Japanese solar panel exports more expensive and less popular.
The new Malaysian factory is thought to help Panasonic increase its annual production by 900 megawatts by 2013. Production will begin in 2012, and more than 1,500 people will be employed at the new plant.
There has been an increased focus on renewable energy sources since the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Marc. The company believes that this sudden increase in environmental awareness, as well as new government solar energy subsidies, will mean a growing clean energy market.
Panasonic is aiming to increase focus on environmental technology such as solar panels and other renewable and solar energy systems. In 2009, they acquired a majority stake in Sanyo, one of the world’s biggest suppliers of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and a big player in solar panel production.
