Taiwan's E-Ton Solar Capacity to Triple by 2008


TAIPEI - E-Ton Solar, one of Taiwan's top solar cell makers, plans to more than triple its annual capacity to 260 megawatts by end-2008, the company said on Tuesday, to tap the fast-growing renewable energy market.
E-Ton's annual capacity will hit 78 megawatts by the end of this year, President C.Y. Tsai said in a presentation to be delivered later at a solar cell seminar.
E-Ton and Motech Industries Inc., Taiwan's largest solar cell manufacturer, compete with bigger rivals like market leader Sharp Corp. and Germany's SolarWorld AG
E-Ton's shares, which began trade on Taiwan's over-the-counter market in March, rose 0.64 percent to T$786 on Tuesday, underperforming the broad market's 1.22 percent rise.
The solar market supplies only 1 percent of the world's energy needs and is worth an estimated US$7 billion annually. The industry may increase that proportion to 8 percent by 2030, according to the European Renewable Energy Council.