Mitsubishi, the Japanese manufacturer of consumer electronics and machinery, has just finished building a 24,000 square metre solar plant, which may start operating by October this year.

The company plans to meet what it expects to be a tripling of demand for solar energy in the next few years, based on government incentives to the public to move away from fossil fuels.

It has also factored in the establishment of the feed-in-tariff system across Europe and growing demand in the US market.

Jun Nagasawa, general manager of the firm’s solar division, said this week: “Our lines are running at full capacity, 24 hours a day.”

A new factory, on the same site as the plant, will produce enough monocrystalline silicon PV cells to increase generating capacity to around 600 megawatts within two years, which could supply electricity to over 120,000 Japanese homes.

Last year, the Japanese Photovoltaic Expansion Centre said that solar energy battery shipments for households more than doubled in spring and summer, resulting in Japanese homes possessing a combined generating capacity of 205,833 kilowatts.