Solar companies get boost from Japan - BusinessWeek

NEW YORK

Solar panel makers could get a lift this year thanks to new renewable energy laws in Japan, Jefferies & Co. said Friday.

A renewable energy bill will include a feed-in tariff that pays homeowners for the power they generate from solar panels, analyst Jesse Pichel said. The bill, which will become effective on July 1, 2012, could increase solar installations in the country more than five-fold by 2020, Pichel said.

"Although economic details are pending, we believe solar will be the largest beneficiary of the bill given Japan's history as the first country to adopt solar as a viable energy source," Pichel said.

Japan this summer said that the risks of nuclear energy were clearly too high after a March 11 earthquake and tsunami touched off leaks, explosions and meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant northeast of Tokyo.

National leader said that renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass should eventually replace nuclear as a new pillar of energy supply.

Japanese companies such as Kyocera Corp. and Sharp Corp. are expected to benefit, as well as companies that do a lot of business in the country such as Suntech Power Holdings Co. and Canadian Solar Inc. In addition, the new Japanese incentives will tighten global supplies for solar panels and likely raise prices for the entire industry, Pichel said.

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