Europe replaced Japan last year as the top producer of solar batteries, a survey by a U.S. industry journal said Saturday. Japan's annual production of solar cells came to 920,000 kw last year, down 11.3 percent from the previous year, while that of Europe rose 43.9 percent to 1.06 million kw, according to the journal. Electric power companies have bought electricity generated by solar power at preferential prices in Germany, Spain, Greece and South Korea, contributing to the expansion of the solar cell market. But demand for solar batteries has declined in Japan since a subsidy system for residential solar power generation was terminated in fiscal 2005, according to industrial sources. Among output represented by individual companies, Japan's Sharp Corp., which had headed the world list for seven straight years, lost the lead to Q-Cells AG of Germany in the reporting year.