Sharp sees US taking lead as top solar consumer

http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=ousiv&storyID=2006-04-06T195012Z_01_N06231520_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESSPRO-ENERGY-SHARP-SOLAR-DC.XML

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States could soon overtake Germany as the world's top solar power generator, especially as developers build new homes wired with panels that convert sunlight into electricity, the head of Sharp Corp.'s (6753.T: Quote, Profile, Research) solar business in the Americas said.

"I think everybody in the know in the industry knows that the United States is going to be the biggest market in solar. We have all the right things happening here," Ron Kenedi, vice president for Sharp's Solar Energy Solutions Group, the world's largest maker of solar panels, told Reuters in an interview.

Solar panel makers globally sold about $11 billion of equipment last year. Along with wind power, it is one of the fastest-growing sectors in energy.

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The United States, the world's largest energy consumer, has some catching up to do if it is to outpace Germany and Japan, the world's top solar generators. In 2005 Germany had nearly four times as much installed solar power as the United States, and Japan has nearly three times more, according to Washington, D.C.-based Solar Energy Industries Association.

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