Japanese electronics company Sharp (SHCAY) is turning up the heat in the increasingly competitive solar energy market, announcing plans Wednesday to acquire solar energy producer Recurrent Energy in a cash deal worth upwards of $305 million. The acquisition of the San Francisco-based solar power developer is part of Sharp's shift in focus in the solar market toward larger contracts with power plants and developers, according to a Bloomberg report.

The deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, not only gives Sharp access to a solar power developer, but also gives the company a wider foothold in the U.S. market. Back home, Japan's largest solar panel manufacturer is feeling the heat from Chinese panel makers such as Suntech Power Holdings (STP), according to the report.

Recurrent develops products ranging from small solar power systems on rooftops to fields of solar power panels, and ties these systems together to form a large, distributed energy-producing source. Once the merger is competed, Recurrent will operate as a subsidiary of Sharp.