Leading solar equipment maker Sharp said today it will double its production capacity for solar photovoltaic modules during the coming year at its plant in the U.K.

Sharp Manufacturing Company of U.K. is based at Wrexham, North Wales. Capacity will be increased from the current 110 MW to 220 MW annually.

Last year, Sharp spent about ¥3.5 billion increasing production at a factory in Japan to 600 MW per year.

Outside of Japan, Sharp's U.K. operation was its second international production base for solar modules after its facility in the U.S. It began operations in the spring of 2004 with an annual PV module production capacity of 20 MW. It then expanded production capacity to 50 MW in May 2005, and 110 MW in February 2006.

Up to now, the German market has been the engine driving demand for photovoltaic power systems in Europe, but electricity buy-back guarantee programs have now been expanded to 20 countries, including Spain, Italy, Greece and France, where long hours of sunlight daily ensure good PV power generating efficiency. Recently, the number of such installations has been growing rapidly, centered on Southern Europe.

Sharp expects its solar cell-related businesses to generate ¥235 billion in revenue in the year starting April. That would be an increase of 18 percent from a year earlier and account for 7 percent of Sharp's overall sales.

Sharp said it's aiming to evolve its solar cell business by working to make cells thinner to more effectively utilize raw materials, and expand production of thin-film solar cells that minimize the amount of silicon used.