  We report on G-band emission observed by the Solar Optical Telescope onboard
the Hinode satellite in association with the X1.5-class flare on 2006 December
14. The G-band enhancements originate from the footpoints of flaring coronal
magnetic loops, coinciding with non-thermal hard X-ray bremsstrahlung sources
observed by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager. At the
available 2 minute cadence, the G-band and hard X-ray intensities are
furthermore well correlated in time. Assuming that the G-band enhancements are
continuum emission from a blackbody, we derived the total radiative losses of
the white-light flare (white-light power). If the G-band enhancements
additionally have a contribution from lines, the derived values are
overestimates. We compare the white-light power with the power in hard X-ray
producing electrons using the thick target assumption. Independent of the
cutoff energy of the accelerated electron spectrum, the white-light power and
the power of accelerated electrons are roughly proportional. Using the observed
upper limit of ~30 keV for the cutoff energy, the hard X-ray producing
electrons provide at least a factor of 2 more power than needed to produce the
white-light emission. For electrons above 40 keV, the powers roughly match for
all four of the time intervals available during the impulsive phase. Hence, the
flare-accelerated electrons contain enough energy to produce the white-light
flare emissions. The observed correlation in time, space, and power strongly
suggests that electron acceleration and white-light production in solar flares
are closely related. However, the results also call attention to the
inconsistency in apparent source heights of the hard X-ray (chromosphere) and
white-light (upper photosphere) sources.
