Honda Motor said it will begin mass producing next-generation solar panels for household use from 2007. Honda, which was the first major automaker to enter the market, said it will use thin film solar cell made of a compound of copper, indium, gallium and selenium - instead of the usual silicon. The production system will require only half the energy to produce a conventional solar cell and lower carbon-dioxide emissions by 50 percent.
Honda said the next-generation solar panels - which had already been developed but had earlier proved difficult to mass-produce - would ultimately cut production costs. The new production system will initially have an annual capacity to produce about 27.5 megawatts worth of solar cells, enough for 8,000 households a year.