Panasonic Corp. will suspend operations at one of its solar cell plants for several months amid falling demand for household solar panels, company officials said Tuesday.
The company will stop production at the Nishikinohama solar cell factory in Kaizuka in Osaka Prefecture from the end of February to the end of October. The workforce will be temporarily dismissed.
Demand is declining for household solar photovoltaic systems in Japan as prices paid for solar-generated electricity under the government's feed-in tariff system are falling.
The company will continue operations at its two other factories in western Japan and at a facility it operates in Malaysia.
Solar cells produced at the plant account for around 30 percent of the combined annual capacity of 900,000 kilowatts of cells built at all four plants.