By March 2011, Mitsubishi says it will raise its annual solar PV cell / module production capacity by 50 MW to 270 MW, and ultimately plans to reach an annual solar PV production capacity of 600 MW in 2012 or later.

Mitsubishi plans to install new equipment at its Iida Factory to manufacture monocrystalline silicon solar PV cells and start production by March 2011.

It will also build new production lines to manufacture monocrystalline silicon solar PV modules at its Nakatsugawa Works Kyoto Factory in Kyoto Prefecture.

Mitsubishi Electric‘s expansion of production capacity is in response to the sharp increase in global demand for solar PV systems. The global solar PV market is expected to grow from 5550 MW in fiscal 2009 (April 2008-March 2009) to approximately 8 GW in fiscal 2012 (April 2011-March 2012), with the introduction of new solar PV related stimulus programmes in Japan, feed-in-tariff systems spreading in Europe, as well as projected growth in the North American market.