Solar Makers Climb After Japan Announces Subsidized Rates

Solar manufacturers led by LDK Solar Co. and First Solar Inc. (FSLR) rose to the highest in a month after Japan approved subsidies that will encourage at least $9.6 billion in new installations in the country.

The Bloomberg Industries Global Large Solar Energy Index (BISOLAR) of 17 companies rose 2 percent to $12.77 at the close in New York, the highest since May 17.

Japan announced prices today for solar electricity that are triple what industrial users pay for conventional power. The subsidy is expected to spur 3.2 gigawatts of new installations, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The output is roughly equivalent to three nuclear reactors.

Japan “definitely is one bright market in the solar industry,” Ben Kallo, research analyst at Robert W Baird & Co. in San Francisco, said in an interview today.

American depositary receipts for Xinyu, China-based LDK climbed 1.8 percent to $2.21, each ADR is worth one ordinary share. Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar, the world’s largest maker of thin-film panels, gained 3.7 percent to $14.47.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ehren Goossens in New York at egoossens1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net