Here comes the sun: Makers ratchet up production to satisfy growing global appetite.

Japanese manufacturers of solar power generators are cranking up their production capacities to meet growing demand at home and abroad, particularly from the United States and Europe.

Four makers that hold a combined global market share of almost 50 percent-Sharp Corp., Kyocera Corp., Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co.-are also doubling efforts to prevent leakage of their expertise in the field.

Kyocera, the world's third-largest maker of solar power generators, is in the midst of a major expansion drive overseas.

In October, the company started production of solar photovoltaic modules at a new assembly plant in Tijuana, Mexico. A year ago, the manufacturer opened a plant in Tianjin, China, and in April, it plans to start operations at an assembly plant in Kadan, Czech Republic.

With the three plants, Kyocera will have established a global production network that is well-situated in the three promising overseas markets of China, Europe and the United States.

Global market leader Sharp has also been adding to its fleet of factories. After launching a plant in the United States last year, the company opened shop in Wrexham, Britain, in April.

Sanyo, meanwhile, plans to build a new assembly plant in Dorog, Hungary. The 5,000-square-meter factory will begin operations in June.

Production volume in terms of generating capacity will be 50,000 kilowatts a year initially and will be doubled from fiscal 2006.

On home soil, the electronics manufacturer plans to build a new plant in Gunma Prefecture in January, and Mitsubishi Electric says it will boost capacity at its plants in Nagano and Kyoto prefectures by next spring.

Japan has been a leading market for solar power generators.

The recent surge in demand from the U.S. and European markets is largely due to growing interest in renewable energy sources as governments seek alternative energy sources that are gentle on the environment.

To curb global warming, the European Union in 2001 ordered member nations to increase the share of electric power generated using natural energy sources such as solar and wind power.

In Germany, demand for solar power generators is growing remarkably, accelerated by a government policy to phase out nuclear power plants and promote alternative energy sources.

In the United States, solar power generators are attracting increased attention following power shortages in 2000 and 2001 that damaged public trust in electric power companies.

The growth in worldwide demand has raised global production of solar modules by 30 to 40 percent annually since 1999.

Modules produced in 2003 have a combined generating capacity of about 744,000 kilowatts, equivalent to that of a midsize nuclear power plant. Sharp estimates that total production in terms of generating capacity will grow to 1 million kw in 2004.

After completing their expansion projects next summer, the four domestic manufacturers will boast a combined production capacity of 843,000 kw, 60 percent larger than at the end of March. By building assembly plants conveniently located near the U.S. and European markets, Japanese manufacturers aim to slash transportation costs and shorten delivery times.

A Kyocera official said exporting bulky finished products from Japan to such markets is alarmingly expensive, and the company hopes to cut transportation costs by as much as 80 percent by assembling the units overseas.

Despite global expansion, manufacturers plan to keep production of photovoltaic cells-highly confidential core components-at home out of concern over leakage of development know-how.

Overseas plants are responsible only for the less sensitive downstream process: assembling the cells, all imported from Japan, into solar modules.

Domestic plants are off-limits to outsiders as manufacturers jealously guard their proprietary production processes of photovoltaic cells, which largely determine the energy-conversion rate and other key performances.(IHT/Asahi: November 3,2004)