Japan-based electric and architectural equipment manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced today its plans to build another photovoltaic (PV) cell production facility alongside its first plant at Nakatsugawa Works Iida Factory in Nagano Prefecture.

            The plant, aptly named the PV Cell Plant #2, will help the company expand its annual PV production capacity from 150 megawatts (MW) to 600 MW by the fiscal year 2012. This announcement accelerates the production expectations the company made earlier in the year for 500 MW by fiscal 2013.

            As a point of reference, U.S. nuclear power plants generally have annual capacities of upwards of 1.2 gigawatts. Mitsubishi Electric’s planned 600 MW capacity would be halfway there; a significant step into weaning the country off of nuclear power, but not quite there.

            Mitsubishi Electric, established in 1921, didn’t enter the residential PV systems market until 1996, with its first plant opening in 1998. In addition to upping annual capacity, the company also plans to ship small-size PV modules (ranging from 35 watt to 52 watt) for overseas markets.