1981
Operations began at the Shinjo Plant (now Katsuragi Plant).

A plant specializing in solar power was completed in Shinjo-cho (now Katsuragi City), in Nara Prefecture, and started production of solar energy absorbers, heat storage tanks, and solar cell batteries for outer space, as well as starting study for solar energy-use technology. The plant�fs roof is currently installed with more than 800 modules, which supply electric power from solar energy, and also collect a variety of data, and are useful in demonstration experiments. In 2008 the production system of thin-film solar cells will be enhanced to 160 MW (megawatts) per year.