San Diego, CA, October 14, 2008 –
SANYO North America Corporation, SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (SANYO)’s regional headquarters for the North American market, announces SANYO’s plans to increase the production capacity of solar modules at its Mexico Monterrey Factory by nearly 2.5 times the current amount. The increase in production will serve the rapidly rising demand for solar power in the North American market. The Mexican plant currently has an annual production capacity of 20MW for solar module assembly of SANYO’s proprietary HIT® solar panels*. The planned increases in production capacity would add up to a total production capacity of 50MW, more than doubling the current capacity of the factory. Operations are expected to start from December, reaching full capacity within this fiscal year(FY).
SANYO continues to augment its facilities with the most advanced production equipment and is constructing new facilities for future growth in response to increasing market demand, moving forward to reach the goals set to more than double its annual production capacity from the current level of 260MW to at least 600MW by the close of FY 2010. SANYO is currently accelerating efforts to increase production of HIT® photovoltaic modules to correspond with the needs of the three major markets in the world: Japan, the United States, and Europe. Previously, in addition to today’s announced production increase at the Mexico Monterrey Plant, SANYO announced its plans to more than double its solar ingot and wafer production capacity, fundamental components of the HIT® solar cell, by building a new plant in Salem, Oregon (SANYO Solar of Oregon LLC.). This new plant will be in addition to the existing plant in Carson, California, (SANYO Solar U.S.A.), bringing the total ingot and wafer production capacity in North America to approximately 100MW upon completion and full operation of the Oregon Plant.
In addition to strengthening the solar business in North America, SANYO is also planning to strengthen its solar business globally.
Outline of the Monterrey New Factory Addition
| Company Name: | SANYO Energy S.A. DE C.V. |
| Location: | Monterrey, Mexico |
| Size Area (Land area/Building Area): | 247,570 ft2 118,400 ft2 |
| Items produced: | HIT Solar Modules |
| Production start: | December 2008 |
| Production capacity: | Approx. 50MW |
| No. of Employees: | First year: Approx. 300 |
| Investment Amount: | Approx. $7 million USD |
Solar Production Capacity of SANYO Facilities
| | | FY 2006 | FY2007 | End of FY2008 (estimated) |
| Cell | Japan (2 Locations) | 165MW | 260MW | 340MW |
| Module | Japan (2 Locations) | 95MW | 95MW | 135MW |
| SANYO Hungary Kft. Dorog, Hungary | 55MW | 145MW | Expansion Considered |
| SANYO Energy (USA) Corporation Monterrey Factory, Mexico | 20MW | 20MW | 50MW |
| Total | 170MW | 260MW | Approx. 340Mw |
*HIT® stands for Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer. HIT® solar cells developed by SANYO are hybrid solar cells composed of single crystalline silicon wafers surrounded by ultra-thin amorphous silicon layers
About SANYO
SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. was incorporated in 1950. The name SANYO in Japanese means “three oceans”: the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, and symbolizes the Company’s global perspective. SANYO aims at becoming a leading provider of Environment- and Energy-related products, providing product solutions for the Environment, Energy and Lifestyle with consolidated sales of US$ 20,178 million for FiscalYear 2007. SANYO's businesses cover a broad range of products and services such as photovoltaic (solar) systems, rechargeable batteries, HVAC/R equipment, digital imaging devices, home appliances, electronic components and others. Based on its brand vision “Think GAIA”, SANYO is committed to providing cutting-edge solutions for a sustainable world by weaving together its numerous proprietary technologies. For further information, please visit http://www.sanyo.com.
For Press Contact
Courtney Berg
BERKMAN for SANYO North America Corporation
+1-619-231-9977 (office)
+1-305-773-6592 (mobile)
courtney@berkmanpr.com
Akihiko Oiwa
SANYO North America Corporation
Corporate Communications
+1-619-661-1134 (office)