Alternative Energy Daily: Geothermal in Japan; Solar PV Standard Equipment on New Homes (MSBHY, TOSBF, ORA, CPN, OGFGF, IDKOY, RZTI, KBH, SPWRA, IRDVY, ACXIF, SRWRY)

Here’s our daily report on developments in solar and wind power, alternative fuels, and other news related to the alternative energy sector. As Japan works to rise from the rubble, more alternatives may surface to replace the country’s reliance on nuclear power generation. One source that has been overlooked so far is geothermal, which could replace 100% of Japan’s planned nuclear expansion over the next 10 years, according to Reuters.

Japan has offered little support for geothermal generation in the past, but that could change as the country looks for safer ways to generate electricity. Mitsubishi Corp. (OTC: MSBHY), Toshiba Corp. (OTC: TOSBF), and Fuji Electric supply the bulk of the world’s supply of steam turbines and power machinery for geothermal plants. Publicly traded companies that build the plants include Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA), Calpine Corp. (NYSE: CPN), Australia’s Origin Energy Ltd. (OTC: OGFGF) and Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan (OTC: IDKOY). Utah-based Raser Technologies, Inc. (OTC: RZTI) also plays in the sector, but the company filed a “going concern” letter with the SEC on March 1st. Long lead times and costly construction have hampered the development of geothermal, with a 1,000-megawatt plant (there’s no such thing yet) costing upwards of $3.5 billion to build and taking 5-7 years to complete.

On the solar front, US homebuilder KB Home (NYSE: KBH) is building an 88-house development in southern California that includes 1.4-kilowatt solar PV array as a standard fixture with every house. The company has offered solar as an option before, but this is the first time it has been included as part of the basic plan. The arrays are using panels from SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA). Home buyers can upgrade to a 3.2-kilowatt system that would likely be enough to keep the house off the grid.

In Europe, Spain’s largest savings bank (or caja), Bankia, is reported to be discussing the sale of its 20% stake in wind energy firm Genesa to Portugal’s EDP for $1.9 billion. Genesa is Spain’s third largest wind energy company, trailing Iberdrola Renovables SA (OTC: IRVDY) and Acciona Energia (OTC: ACXIF).

Germany’s Solarworld AG (OTC: SRWRY) says that it will exceed 2010 revenue of 1.3 billion euros in 2011 as a result of a stronger market in the US and an expected shift in Japan to more renewables to replace the lost nuclear reactors. Most important, Solarworld sees prices continuing to stabilize following changes to subsidies in both Germany and Italy.

Paul Ausick