Although seen as highly unlikely bymany solar industry experts, the unattributed rumour nevertheless sent Suntech sharessharply up after it was reported by a news service owned by the Hong KongEconomic Times.

But Buffett confirmed that the report was totally false when questioned over the weekend onthe sidelines of the annual shareholders get-together for his conglomerate,Berkshire Hathaway.

MidAmerican Energy, part of Berkshire Hathaway, hastransformed into one of the largest renewables investors in the US, havingbought an host of high-profile projects in recent years, including theunder-construction 579MW Antelope Valley PV farm in California.

Separately,