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(Bloomberg) - Japan's proposed incentives for renewable energy will boost solar panel installations and help wean the nation off nuclear power, industry lobby groups and developers said. A government panel Wednesday recommended solar power providers earn 42 yen (52 U.S. cents) a kilowatt-hour for the electricity they produce, three times the 13.65 yen charged to industrial and commercial users, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The preferential rate, known as a feed-in tariff, for solar power was recommended for 20 years. "The start of the feed-in tariff program will be a major step forward to expand the solar power market," said Tetsuo Kuba, president of Kyocera Corp., a solar panel maker. "We will expand our businesses in the mega-solar market," Kuba said in a statement. The panel's recommendation, which must be approved by Industry Minister Yukio Edano, marks another step in scaling back atomic power following the disaster at the Fukushima Dai- Ichi Plant last year and reducing carbon emissions linked to fossil fuel use. Japan currently gets about 9% of its electricity from renewables. The government's feed-in tariffs will require power utilities to pay above-market rates for electricity generated from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. Wind and Geothermal Wind-generated power was recommended at 23.10 yen a kilowatt hour for plants with the capacity of 20 kilowatts or more and 57.75 yen for smaller ones, both for 20 years. For geothermal, the panel suggested 27.30 yen a kilowatt hour for plants with the capacity of 15,000 kilowatts or more and 42 yen for smaller plants, both for 15 years. The feed-in tariffs will be introduced in July to spur investment in solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and hydroelectric power generation. The program will replace an earlier one called "renewable portfolio standards" that require electricity retailers to buy set amounts of clean power at a price negotiated betwee

Solar System

Do you know Robotic missions to Mars have revealed clues about the planet's atmosphere and surface composition? NASA is investing to find and use natural resources beyond Earth. Want to know more about Robotic Mars Mission.

Do you know Robotic missions to Mars have revealed clues about the planet's atmosphere and surface composition? NASA is investing to find and use natural resources beyond Earth. Want to know more about Robotic Mars Mission.