The Daily Yomiuri online reports that Japan was the largest producer of solar power until 2005, the year in which Germany took over the lead. In recent years, European countries have been expanding their production of solar power more rapidly than Japan. Germany now accounts for 39 percent of total production, while Japan's contribution is 38 percent. Germany, which will host the summit meeting on global warming in June, has a reputation for being environmentally conscious, and subsidies for solar power have been increased, with the stable price of such power helping to make solar power generation more popular. However, in Japan, subsidized projects by the New Energy Foundation, aimed at generating solar power for private residents ended in fiscal 2005, and now only local governments have subsidized projects. Other countries have also rapidly expanded their solar panel production, among which the United States and China.

Source: Daily Yomiuri Online

Sharp Corporation has increased annual production capacity for solar cells at its Katsuragi Plant in Nara Prefecture by 100 Megawatts to meet burgeoning demand in Japan and abroad, and has constructed a system that will be able to enter full production by November 2006. The expansion has cost approximately 3.5 billion Yen ($30 million). As a result, solar cell production capacity at the Katsuragi Plant will reach 600 MW per year, the world's highest.

Sharp says that despite concerns in the photovoltaic power generating market about a shortage of processed silicon, the raw material for solar cells, PV systems are increasingly being used in Japan for industrial applications and are being installed on new residential construction in collaboration with home builders.