Vitec will take a 51% stake in the venture, which will eventually produce up to 80MW of PV modules per year, a Vitec spokesperson tells Recharge.

The two sides hope to lease factory space north of Tokyo in Otawara, Tochigi prefecture, from April.

ReneSola, based in China’s Zhejiang province, wants to localise production in response to demand for “made-in-Japan” panels, the Vitec spokesperson says.