Salem, Ore. — SANYO North America Corp. (SANYO), has opened its newest manufacturing plant for photovoltaic products at the Salem Energy and Technology Park. SANYO Solar of Oregon LLC will produce silicon ingots and wafers, and core materials to manufacture SANYO’s patented Heterjunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer (HIT) solar cells and modules that claim the world’s highest solar light to electric energy conversion efficiency per installed square foot.
The factory will produce 70 megawatts (MW) of silicon ingots annually with full production starting by April 2010.
SANYO targets an annual global production capacity of at least 600 MW by FY 2010. The company currently manufactures a large portion of silicon ingot and wafers in the U.S. with solar cell production in Japan and module assembly plants located in Mexico, Hungary and Japan.