Panasonic promises greener Plasma HDTVs

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd (Panasonic) is boosting its green credentials with a plan to sell Plasma HDTVs that consume half as much power as current sets, from next year.

Plasma technology has been criticised by environmentalists because it consumes more power than other TVs, including flat-panel LCDs.

Panasonic plans to launch a Plasma HDTV measuring just one inch thick in April 2009, compared with current sets of between 3 and 4 inches thick.

The company is building the world’s largest plasma panel plant, in western Japan, which will use sheets of motherglass that can yield 16 x 42-inch panels per sheet.

This will significantly increase production efficiency compared to current product at Panasonic’s most recent plant, which uses motherglass yielding 8 x 42-inch panels.