The
45bn
yen
($580m)
plant,
with
a
total
annual
output
of
300MW,
will
produce
wafers
and
cells,
along
with
Panasonic’s
trademarked
Heterojunction
with
Intrinsic
Thin-layer
(HIT)
solar
modules.
The
factory,
expected
to
start
operation
by
December,
is
located
on
a
70,000-sq-metre
site
at
the
Kulim
Hi-Tech
Park
in
Malaysia’s
state
of
Kedah.
Panasonic
is
expected
to
face
stiff
competition
from
Chinese
companies,
which
often
have
a
much
larger
integrated-capacity
and
can
produce
wafers,
cells
and
modules
at
lower
cost.
But
Panasonic
believes
its
unique
technology
will
keep
it
competitive,
and
that
the…
