Japanese oil refiner Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. (5002.T) has decided to construct its third thin-film solar manufacturing plant in Miyazaki Prefecture, at a cost of approximately 100 billion yen (US$1.1 billion).
The planned annual capacity of the third plant is 900 megawatts (MW)--roughly an increase of twelve times the company's current solar output of 80 MW.
The new plant is expected to start operations in 2011.
Showa Shell will purchase the Miyazaki Plant owned by Hitachi Plasma Display Ltd. located in Kunitomi-cho, Higashimorokata-gun, Miyazaki, and install equipment there to quickly construct the new plant. Production from the plant will be sold in Japan and around the world for various uses including residential, industrial and solar power generation.
With this investment decision, Showa Shell steps forward in pursuing its midterm goals for 2014.
According to a Reuters report, the company wants half of its profits to come from solar sales, as they attempt to close the gap on leading thin-film firm First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR).
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