Seattle:
Japanese
electronics
giant
Sharp,
the
world's
third-largest
PV
manufacturer,
is
joining
its
rivals
in
the
project-development
business
Sharp,
which
trailed
First
Solar
and
Suntech
in
2009
global
production
on
the
iSuppli
rankings,
will
pay
up
to
$305m
for
Recurrent,
a
San
Francisco-based
developer
with
a
2GW
pipeline
of
distributed
solar
projects,
typically
in
the
2-20MW
range.
"It
is
essential
for
Sharp
to
function
as
a
developer
in
the
photovoltaic
field,
in
order
to
further
expand
its
business
in
this
area,"
says
Toshishige
Hamano,
Sharp's
executive
vice-president
responsible
for
the
98-year-old…
