"" 

I ma now designing and about to build a small house using solar energy. The house will incorporate both solar as a heat source and solar voltaic energy. The focus is on solar heat, principally because we can have a cheap and convenient energy storage medium, namely water. The water tanks in the bottom of the house will be charged by solar heat cells and kept at about 180 degrees F to provide house space heating and potable hot water. These will provide a large portion of the energy needs for our home. We will also have a bank of batteries to be charged by a smaller area of photo voltaic sells which will provide for our emergency electric power and eventually an electric automobile. This may also feed back into the electric grid when excess power is generated. My comment is that much home energy can be provided by solar heat cells on the roof which is simple and relatively inexpensive. This did not seem to be covered well by your technical description. An important part of accelerating the implementation of home solar utilization would be a simple, direct offset of a portion of the cost of the initial installation from ones taxes. both systems will be backed up by electric power from the grid.

"" 

Can a bacteria be synthesized or cloned similar to Chlorophyll in plants which could absorb sunlight and decompose toxic (polluting) chemicals into less toxic chemicals. Tons of toxic chemicals are generated by industries. At many places in the world no pollution colntrol is applied. Even in countries like USA where strict pollution control laws exist, these toxic chemicals are treated with energy generated from coal, oil gas etc. But if we use solar enery for the same purpose we are not inflicting additional penalty on mother earth. The reason why I mention this is as follows: Converting water into Hydrogen and Oxygen as fuel by sunlight-absorbing bacteria might have challenges in terms of effeciency, catalysts, how to store etc. But there might be some reactions on other chemicals that are more efficient inherently. Now if these chemicals are toxic / waste / polluting chemicals then such bacteria can decompose them with better effeciency. So essentially generating energy through non polluting source in a medium (waste chemical) which is polluting and expending it to reduce its polluting potential (so no need for energy storage) would be the best idea.

"Where are the prizes offered for achieving goals in solar power?" 

I'm currently reading a bio on the Wright Bros. Throughout the development of the airplane, there were prizes and challenges set for achieving goal after goal, with the end result of public excitement and eventual triumph. Where are the prizes offered for achieving goals in solar power? I'm from the deep South. Where is the offer for a large award for a solar device that would cool a home? This is a huge thing in the South. My energy bill doubles in the summer when the sun is strongest. Who is going to step up and challenge the world to solve this engineering problem?

"" 

My family is ready! We as a nation need to get on board with solar and other alternative energy sources in our daily lives. I know there are government incentives for that, however I've done a little bit of research, and it seems like those tax incentives are not very clear to the public, and it takes lawyers to interpret those to those who would like to get into the solar power business for residential and commercial use. So there should be some effort to condense some of that financial and legal language into something digestable by the public. And then, technology should take care of itself.

"Imagine roofs where only odd sized trim pieces didn't tie to a large solar grid as the roofing material went together. Likewise siding and even window could have solar collecting capability while still looking like a decorative texture, etc. " 

I believe the key to applying solar power is not with the panels we're used to seeing. Rather it's by making collectors out of nearly all outer surfaces of our homes, and doing it in such a massive way that costs come way down. Imagine roofs where only odd sized trim pieces didn't tie to a large solar grid as the roofing material went together. Likewise siding and even window could have solar collecting capability while still looking like a decorative texture, etc. While this certainly isn't as efficient as a pure collector, the volume of the collector is the key. Energy would even be collected where the sun doesn't directly illuminate it for as long as the sun is shining. Where a home is in the snow, the roof panels could be reversible to generate heat during snow to keep the roof dry and functioning as a collector. Heated drains would be needed to dispose of the water, preferably into a collecting system. A variety of materials could provide an assortment of colors and patterns to siding and shingles, some might be more efficient than others, but all would result in homes that rarely needed power out of the net, and often contributed power into it.

"" 

you're in luck.. Here is the best comment for last.. Can someone please tell me how it is possible for the renewable energy technology of solar to still have such low efficiency at the same time as still having such relatively a high price? ..and after having so many years of market availability in so many countries around the world? Further, can someone tell me why fusion comes in 2nd behind solar if the "survey"? Are the answers to the above questions that solar has such a good trade lobby group presence, its able to "spin" its way into Renewable Energy dominance? Why can't we develop a new base-load generation industry like geothermal and move on from there? Why can't Policy makers get real and put aside short term economics and focus on long term energy solutions that uses a 50 year plan--not a 5 year one. THINK LONG TERM ! ! THINK OF BUILDING A GLOBAL ENERGY POLICY ! ! IT IS OUR PLANET'S COMMON & POTENTIALLY UNIFYING LONG TERM GOAL !

"" 

Solar energy generating things' cost should go down to cost of a normal wall paint..... How about designing a SOLAR wall paint that can be just painted on wall & some where on the wall there are + - wires coming out...take them to the inside of the building & use it.... Forget to store for some time....even if we can make this happen...half of the need is fulfilled.... I am not expert on solar energy....so i ask ..can this be executed?

"" 

The government needs to collaborate on a larger scale and on a broader spectrum with engineers working in fields pertaining to the advancement of solar energy technologies. A large roadblock that we face lies on the political side of such advancement, namely in the relations between world governments and global oil giants, as well as companies currently prospering greatly from the exploitation of non-renewable natural resources. "Interest groups" such as those supporting these current practices are fighting to maintain the current status quo in terms of energy production and distribution. They do not want anything to interfere with their crude oil sales and mountaintop coal mining operations, and are actively inhibiting substantial forward progress in the field of environmentally renewable energy. Further technological advancements and gradual price drops in the cost of solar energy production must continue if our society is to be tipped over the peak to a new manner of operation, a smooth transition to alternative renewable energy resources. In essence, the benefits of such a transition must be shown to be indisputably superior to current fossil sources of energy and in doing so, further advancement can be made with far greater world support and activism.

"" 

we need to explore more areas in solar exploitation because it's a pollution free and absolutely free natural resource.

"" 

I want to help. Does anyone know about any college classes that have to do with buiding enrergy ificiant houses, cars, or anything that has to do with trying to save the enviroment?

"" 

Solar thermal is already economical, compared to coal etc once externalities have been accounted for. We should make it more economical. I am not promoting them as such however Ausra's Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) is the type of device we should be promoting and developing further. See: http://www.ausra.com.au/t echnology/howitworks.html

"One Solar thermal system that I would like to mention here is Solar Air Conditioing system." 

Solar thermal system are viable in third world countries as compared to expensive solar electric power system. One Solar thermal system that i would like to mention here is Solar Air Conditioing system. Keeping in view the Energy demand throughout the world, solar air conditioning systems can contribute significanlty to take the share of high energy demand in air conditioing applications. I am planning my PhD program in this field keeping in view energy crises in my country. Therefore i am much interested in solar air conditioning.

"" 

Iam ready beacause solar energy is predictable. readily available for ever, aboundantlly constant, cleaner, therefore reliable for exploitation

"" 

I think we need to continue to ask more questions, be more involved with our homes, schools,towns and government. With something like energy there are many answers, including ones we haven't asked yet. Is solar the only answer, is there another answer, Who would have thought of using cooking oil to power cars. The information is out there we just need to ask the right questions and continue to be involved in the improvment of our surroundings. Why do we recommend CFl lighting when the chemicals poisen the landfills we put them in. How bout another light source, heating our houses, cooling our food. What other ways can we do it. Oh and by the way lets share our ideas, there are great researchers out there stopped by lack of a simple answer. Life is getting way to difficult and demanding, Our leadership is all to often taking care of themselves instead of looking out for us. If we want cleaner air, water, cheaper energy, better schools, real health care instead of illness control we need to work together and demand more from our leaders. I am constantly amazed with the things I can do just by putting the question out in the internet. There is little I cannot find a fix for or a problem I cannot find someone who has solved it. Comeon everyone lets get it together and quit fighting amongst ourselves and arguing silly stuff. We can have a life where no one is hungry or homeless, where we have clean efficent energy, minimal disease and illness, clean air and water. The answer is out there we just need to ask the right question.

"Investments in fossil fuel technology are now treated as sunk costs and not factored into cost calculations but investments in solar technology are treated as present costs. Would switching to solar power reduce our costs elsewhere? " 

Of course there is a tremendous potential to improve the current standards of solar energy. But I wonder, while comparing the costs solar energy to current energy sources, what all are we including in this comparison? Investments in fossil fuel technology are now treated as sunk costs and not factored into cost calculations but investments in solar technology are treated as present costs. Would switching to solar power reduce our costs elsewhere? Moving to solar energy for residential and commerical purposes may reduce the overall demand on fossil fuels and thus lead to price reduction in other areas. Solar energy is not just limited by lack of technology but also economics, politics and monopolistic energy companies. Any movement towards large scale use of SE would require an approach that balances (or overcomes) all these barriers. The question is can technology development be used to spearhead this movement? Solving a problem sometimes requires knowing if we are asking the right questions. My comments are a contribution in that direction.

"" 

one way of improving the usage of solar energy is - by providing atleast one solar cell to each house in world. it will impliment if our political parties takes it is as an ajenda of their party. instead of waste programmes which takes lackes of crores like pinchans, helpping funds for senior citizens. etc.. this it will be imroved the usage of the solar energy

"" 

The government needs to push this more and start to push it on car companies and energy producers, they have spent too much time idiling around.

"" 

The biggest mistake that we all do regarding solar energy is that everybody advertising the ecological profile of this technology. Of course this is the most important aspect, but in reality when it comes to the application, nobody cares how much green it is. Economics is what matters. The further step that solar must achieve is a competitive average (since irradiation varies) price against oil in terms of $/kWh. The problem is that oil price changes from time to time so nobody can estimate exactly what this $/kWh should be. However in order to make solar energy cheaper the only way is large scale production of solar modules, wafers, cells and most imporant polysilicon. Feed in tariffs can help a lot to this direction.

"" 

Dear Sr. It's time to change from volt-cell matterial to increase more than 31 % of solar energy obtained . i know that you must cost a lot of money but if you find some good first you will have the prize and the worlds thanks to you. I'm a foreign bachelor chemical engineer I'd like to make something but It's in miami nothing important so i must move to the investigation company area ... thanks for you time have a good day diego paz diegopaz100@hotmail.com

"" 

At present the cost of solar energy may look high comparitive with conventional energy. All engineers, world wide have to spend at least One hour per day for finding out the solution how to reduce the cost of solar energy production, defenetly can be achived. when sloar energy is made avilable at afrodable price to common/poor man, people start using solar energy insted conventional energy. I can cote an ex. here, In the initial stage the cell cost is too high to purchase by a common man, as compitation increased in manucturers the cost slassed down. Same way due to the problems facing by the present conventional energy avilability, people start using Solar energy. and if prises slashes down further usage will increase. In the present senario, Govt. has to impose a rule on MNCs & Other Govt & Public industries to use solar energy at least 10% of their requirement. Then only compitation increases in the field of manufacturing at low price and public will start using the same like cell phones.

"" 

we need solar energy in our daily use. if cost affortable we can save globle threat of envormental disturbances, there by saving earth and mankind

"" 

capture heat from the sun to create a heat exchanging hot water heater. If 75% of the USA used heat exchanging technology to heat water, when they could, how much energy and money would we save? How affordable is this technology? It is black aluminum or copper tubing with water connected to an insulated tank; the tank has a coiled tubing running through it with cold water in and hot water leaving as it is heated in the tubing coil. I have heard these things get so hot that anti-freeze coolant is needed to keep the water from boiling. How do you measure 'affordable'? What means are there to provide incentives? I think it would be inexpensive to install this device on most sites but I think people are too busy to bother to investigate. Incentives or penalties are probably the most effective way to get people to get things done (or lose a local election ). For your living space- store heat overnight in a room or rooms in your building that have many windows, made of black bricks that can retain heat, and has windows or doors that allow the heat into the other parts of the building during the night or cold times. These rooms can hopefully retain heat during the day and give off heat during the night. Maybe some heat exchanging tubes can supply heat by being built into your flooring and turned on and off with a simple valve that allows the hot water through the circuit. Now you need to store the suns energy for light and electricity to run motors and stuff? That would be convenient eh? Perhaps you can use wind or wave power for the other uses like running my computers and my hair clippers. I think you would save much power by using passive heating. Can I cook food using passive heating? That is what I would like to be able to do- and do it with rudimentary technology.

"" 

If every roof in Florida had solar panels and our meters could run backwards to the grid that might provide the incentive to mainstream solar energy production.

"" 

Solar thermal already reaches efficiencies of up to 40%. Power storage is essentially a solved issue, and the technology has been put into production world wide. http://news.cnet.com/8301 -10784_3-9775824-7.html http://news.zdnet.com/210 0-9595_22-6166113.html http://news.cnet.com/Full -steam-ahead-for-Nevada-s olar-project/2100-11392_3 -6166113.html

"" 

Solar energy is already practical and economical today. Here is why. Often from an econmic perspective people measure the cost of wdigets from a production perspective. They leave out some costs that to them seem indirect to the prcoess. For example, we routinely hear about nuclear electricity being the cheapest to produce. But the cost does not include the 15 years environmental impact studies and attendant battles nor does it include the cost of decommissioning the plant after use. What would be the price solar electricity if large swatches of the American Southwest were layed out with even the current technology of solar. What if the UN would ring the world with a solar electircity belt comlelte with "inefficient" solar panels and highly efficient solar tehermal plants. I think the cost would be offset by the retirement of the current polutting technologies that currently damage our world and would reduce the cost of reversing the damage. In other words the true cost of the process should also include the effect of the result. When we include the overall costs (such as pollution from coal and nuclear) solar looks mighty cheap and we haven't even discussed the reduction of armament production since we would not have to fight each other for that last drop of oil.

"" 

Solar thermal electric technology can store heated fluid and generate electricity 24 hours per day. According to a paper by Nobel Laureate Carlo Rubbia (delivered at the 2006 SolarPACES conference in Seville, Spain), a mere 15 000 square kilometres of land in the sunbelt will produce an AVERAGE power of 1000 GWe -- which is about (or more than) what the US uses now. I believe Rubbia refers here to Linear Fresnel Concentrators -- which has not been as widely used yet as parabolic trough concentrators, but will see some 400 to 800 MWe in California soon. For parabolic troughs and central receivers the land used will be 40-90% more, depending on what variant is used & how closely the mirrors are spaced. Yet the land needed to supply the US or the world with secure clean electricity in abundance is tiny. And NREL projects its cost to drop from the present ~ $120/MWh to below $50/MWh within a decade -- which apparently is below the cost of new coal (not to mention clean coal). The cost per MWh of solar thermal electric is far below the best Photovoltaic, has been for decades, and will probably remain so. Is it wise to give so little attention, and so little priority to improving and effectively promoting this and other clean energy technologies, to minimize CO2, mercury . . emissions that threaten our climate, our health and our future? I fear that our generation will be judged harshly for not doing so. Instead money is spent on oil wars that serve no purpose other than impoverishing Iraqis (and the US) and strengthening Islamist radicals & regimes.

"" 

Dear Sirs, Just take a look at this: http://www.nrel.gov/analy sis/forum/pdfs/2003/summa ry_03.pdf http://commonhorizon.blog spot.com Thanks, Gonzalo

"" 

I believe new emerging solar cell technology like dye solar cell and polymer solar cell will make solar energy cost effective in near future. However, conventional fuels may not be completely substituted by solar/wind/geothermal technology, what we can expect will be a hybrid of renewable with fossil fuels.

"...research should not be limited to photovoltaics; other methods of utilizing solar energy should be explored." 

The current cost of photovoltaics is too high for their large scale implementation in the third world. Moreover, the technologies and skills required to manufacture components for photovoltaics are also rare in these regions. The first step should be establishment of the infrastructure required to make mass production of photovoltaics possible. This will be best done through global outreach programs and multilateral funding. Yes, research should not be limited to photovoltaics; other methods of utilizing solar energy should be explored. One such method is to heat water to steam and then to store it in pressurized caverns underground, and then using it to turn the turbines. Another method can be the concentrated solar technique. These methods will work optimally with efficient heat exchanging systems, so research should be focused on them. If all of these solar opportunities are explored and implemented to complement one another, the overal long term cost of solar power may be brought with in the range of the third world's kitty.

"" 

I think a discussion of solar energy should include the solar thermal generation technologies that are currently more cost-effective at large scale than photovoltaics.

"" 

Cheap energy will make automated trashcans possible!

"" 

Solar Energy? For me I should say YES! But how? I want to learn about Solar Energy and Wind Power. The Philippines is a tropical country so it is ideal here. But this is expensive here and very little information about Solar and Wind Power! Thanks!

"" 

It was great to know that efficiency of some of experimental solar cell have reached 40%. 87,100 TW is the amount of sunlight that falls on the Earth's surface, 370 TW is all the energy in the wind, and 15 TW was the global rate of energy consumption in 2004 (source :- wikipedia) . Difference between energy from wind and sun is straight forward. I hope one day will come when every house will have solar roof. Even plane, train, etc. could be running on solar power. But what remains Question to me is Cost-Effectiveness and efficiency of solar cell in coming period of time. If any one wants to share information about solar power/energy/production do let me know. As a student, I am very much interested in knowing more about solar. mihir.shingala@yahoo.co.i n

"" 

At first I would like to say that, sir this the best source energy (IN THE SCIENCE AND TECHONOLOGY POINT OF VIEW) and specially for the middle class family. This project is go reapetedly in the rural area and I lastly say that govt should finance this project in the rural area

"" 

I used solar panels on my VA/FHA Four-plexes back in the mid 80's to heat water. The project was built to Gov. spec, however, I could not get the solar included in my appraisals at the time. I want to repeat that program now and want to go solar as much as possible. Is there VA/FHA approved solar for housing now and if so what is my best strategy to get necessary Gov. approvals and credit ? A well engineered project like this could gain a lot of positive exposure for the solar industry. Maybe one of your Solar Teconics would like to expose leading edge solar panels in a joint venture. We are also trying to go solar in another way i.e. Hydroponic (water) farming of organic vegetables both for consumption and, in the case of sugar beets, conversion to ethanol as a renewable energy source. In Texas we can do this perpetually in very large green houses by growing sugar beets which have an 85% conversion ratio.

"" 

I think we should review and revive development of amorphous silicon solar cells. They, according to me, still will be a cost effective alternative. I was involved in the development of a-Si cells for some time. Could produce 3 sq ft area modules - double junction- in a single chamber. Stability was good. Degradation compared well, too. Foe sustainable development, Solar (SPV) is an indispensable imperative.

"" 

For those of us old enough to remember: before the transistor and silicon valley there was the vacuumtube. Theyve got a bad reputation for their burnouts but we still use them daily in our microwave ovens: the magnetron operates at 65 % efficiency whereas a transistor would not reach more then half that for same purpose. In order to economize consumer solar electr. generation should the solar industry go retro? Thermionic electric converters (TEC) harness the whole solar spectrum with higher theoretical efficiencies of up to 70 %. Just the approach taken by Vanderbilt and Tufts univ. of engineering. (see also: advanceddiamond.com). With a 50 % lab efficiency and good radiation resistance, the goal here is 10 $ CENTS/WATT material, to be made possible by advances in IC mass-manufacturing and CVD nano-crystalline amorphous diamond coatings, either in the form of roof panels, or as cellular vacuumtubes, in conjunction with cheap CSP-devices hooked up to open source sun-tracker software. At that price who wouldnt go solar? But regardless the outcome of this, until silicon valley produces the perfect multijunction solar cell, matching the solar spectrum from a single alloy, TECs will play a future role. Perhaps our blue chip giants, with their economies of scale, could reverse-engineer TECs, make solar go more mainstream and restore some of their old glory. (Oh and while they do that, could they please phase out the incandescent lamp for (O)LEDs? It would save 20 % of worldwide electricity use-an annual production of about 268 coal-fired powerplants. Edison would no doubt be quiet happy to see the positive effects of (t)his).

"" 

I think continuous thin film production is the best approach to drive down the cost of photovoltaics, which could be mounted on roofs with local battery or flywheel storage. The latter is also useful for wind and other intermittent sources. Solar thermal plants might be worthwhile in the Southwest, and potentially can operate as baseload plants by storing heated liquid in large tanks during the day for power generation at night.

"" 

My photovoltaic solar stack would use a lens to concentrate sunlight into a beam that would be injected into an illumination tube to stimulate the gas to generate light that would shine on solar cells that are arrange in a hexagon. A solar stack assembly could be made up of thousand or millions of stacks. They wouldn't be as efficient as a flat display on the surface. But since most of the stack is below the surface and even at 1/3 efficiency, more electricity could be generated, the stack would be better than a surface display. My latest solar stack would be the solar steam stack. It would use a lens to concentrate sunlight into a heat beam that would strike water tubing to create steam. The steam would run a turbogenerator to generate electricity. There could be thousands or millions of stacks each producing steam to run generators. If each generator produced a kilowatt of energy, multiply them by the number of stacks used. Storage of excess energy could be in stacked flywheel units. They would be sealed and the motor/generators between the flywheels would be liquid or forced air cooled to prevent vacuum leakage. There could be two motor generators sandwiched between the flywheels that would be made from either rock quartz or one of my ultra-stressed crystalline molecular solid materials that would have magnetic bands around their circumference that would face magnetic bands in the chambers to produce a linear induction effect. My goal is for the flywheels to store at least 100 watt-hours of energy kinetically safely. As one flywheel is being respun up to speed, the other might be producing energy with the second motor/generator. In space, we should use induction coils to use the charged particles from the sun's solar wind to produce electricity. The electricity could be beamed down to earth either as microwaves or a small injection reactor might be used to produce a carrier beam that would ionize the air and allow the transmission beam to reach a surface station without loss. Solar steam might be more economical and practical than solar voltaic. Even gas cycles that would produce steam on the surface and condense below the ground to run turbogenerators might be part of the answer. I counting on the stacks to possibly be what we need for large-scale solar electrical production.

"" 

It is not just the cost, it is about how many people are willing to switch to this kind of energy without thinking of the space that can occupy or it aesthetic. The short-term cost is much, but in long-term it pays for itself.

"" 

I have been involved with solar energy engineering for much of my career. For most of that time, the solar energy research establishment in the US has seemed like a dead hand on this R and D enterprise for decades. The tendency has been for the establishment to promote the same old well-favored or well-connected technologies like PV and disparage cost-effective technologies like DHW and SHCOB. This poor public-sector leadership has tended to mislead private industry and investors into making poor choices. Part of the problem has been the natural inclination of well-funded science-oriented researchers to pursue merely novel if not necessarily useful paths just because this approach generates quick and plentiful reputation-enhancing publications. In addition, well-meaning engineers the national labs have too much involvement and influence with private industry, which discourages industry from working with independent researchers who might have some innovative and cost-effective ideas. There probably is a useful role that federal involvement could play, but the top down approach does not seem to work. A good first step would be for the national labs and especially NREL to stop competing with independent researchers and stop trying to pick winners in the solar derby. Many of those contributing to this page correctly point out that solar heat -- whether DWH, SHOB, or CSP - is more efficient and cost effective than PV. The DOE is enamored by high-tech PV and has diverted too much effort into that inherently limited field. This is an example of well-connected science-oriented researchers forcing the research effort into non-productive areas. DOE and NREL should step out of the limelight for a while and let some freedom of thought and cost-effective ideas flourish.

"" 

Have solar energy scientists considered ways to duplicate the process of photosynthesis? Could we use genetic engineering to speed up the natural photosynthesis processes to acquire a new source of glucose and then make a better biofuel?

"" 

The obvious place to put solar panels is on building roofs. If panels could be cheaply produced at about the same size and sturdiness as roofing tiles, they should be made compulsory for new construction and for re-roofing (except where some clear reason not to do so exists) over the next fifteen years, after which time building owners should be required to replace roofs with solar tiles.

"" 

The cost of solar energy is dropping. But it is not dropping enough. So that the solar energy could be used commercially and espacially the residential use of this energy is still a dream. The cost shold be dropped down to its real production cost and this is only possible if the solar energy component producers narrow their profit margins. The solar energy is powerful enough that one can install it at his home and obtain energy for nearly all home use. Together with the wind energy, This thing can change the world

"" 

I think that making solar more affordable is a huge priority. However, your article does NOT mention the technology with the most potential to do that. The sun's energy comes to us as heat for the most part. It also comes to us as light. Capturing solar energy to use for heating fulfills a HUGE need for energy in the world. We need to heat homes, buildings and water, as well as many industrial processes. Harnessing the sun's energy for heat is much more cost effective than using it to generate electricity. By mass producing solar thermal collection equipment, the costs will drop significantly. If a single chinese company (of several thousand companies) can install several million solar water heaters in a single year, the mass production capability is here to make this economically feasibility. PV is an excellent technology, but we should not close our eyes to the larger need of heating, as you have indicated in your article. Best regards, Don Halme, P.Eng Solar and geothermal program engineer.

"" 

While making solar cells cheaper and more efficient is great we should also be seriously looking into solar power satellites. These will allow areas that receive low amounts of sunlight the same amount of power as those who receive full sunlight most of the year. The power is collected in space where the suns rays are not 'diluted' by the atmosphere and can be safely beamed down to a receiving station in the form of microwaves.

"" 

Wait! Solar energy isn't economical? Then why do so many countries already use solar hot water heaters? Why do so many countries already use solar electric? Why do so many countries use more efficient building designs to conserve energy? Why do so many other countries have energy conservation policies? Are all those people in other countries just being stupid? Are they spending money foolishly? Maybe they are. But, maybe the U.S. is the place that is full of stupid people? The only challenge I see is in the mindset of the people of our nation. There are many ways that we could conserve. There are many efficient, economical ways we could use solar today. But, the people of the U.S. don't want that. They want to continue to have their cake and eat it too. And, as long as the fiscal/energy policy of our country is what it is, there is likely no way to change that mindset. Focus on the problem, not a symptom of the problem. There are no technical solutions to people problems. If you don't believe me, try it sometime. It just makes the people problems worse.

"" 

Should be Renewable Energy! Why is solar energy singled out as being the best option? Wind energy, wave energy, tidal streams, ocean thermal and biomass are all renewable energies in various states of competitiveness. While wind energy is already competitive in a lot of sites (our lab calculated generation cost with existing technology at one site in Egypt to be around 2 USc/kWh!), wave energy is just beginning to get close. Biomass can economically be used for local combined heat and power plants, and is much better used in those than as feedstock for ethanol plants. Maybe I'm just irked because I work in wind energy...

"" 

Here in SA, with an unstable primary energy supplier, the end-to-end costs of coal-fired power stations compared to that of of solar power are difficult to compare apple-to-apple. Coal supply risks like supply costs, wet coal, supplies running out and 450 ppm atmospheric CO2 by 2050 are costs, in my book. Are the medical costs of atmospheric pollutants added to the cost of coal-fired power plants? Not to my knowledge. Amortised over 20 years, solar power is on a par with coal. Factor in carbon fines, levies or taxes and carbon sequestration costs and in the USA, coal-fired power plants are being rejected for construction. Auxiliary supply chain costs and environmental damage are not considered in many analyses - the coal delivery carbon footprint is part of the whole carbon footprint of coal. Solar power experience (SOLEL, Nevada, since the 80s) tells us that the trough components are more reliable than the turbines they power. After 20 years, upgrade costs add to operational costs, but there's still no cost for the energy itself and there are NO emissions. Over the next 5 years after that, the solar stations really come into their own, and thereafter, costs are like those you incur for a bottle opener: you can open bottles again and again and again without paying anything more.

"" 

How does this Engineering Challenges group define making solar economical? Does it have to happen in one step or are several smaller steps allowed? I'm asking because I have an idea that will lower the cost of PV solar panels between 10-15% (relative to existing designs). One will have to make the solar panels slightly differently than the current practice. I have already filed for a patent on this design. But is this considered a big step or a small one? http://time-is-energy.blo gspot.com/ for more details on this design. I have another design which will lower the cost of solar by 20-25%. I am currently working on a design that could lower the cost by even more. At some point, I need to find either a manufacturer inteterested in licensing this technology or an investor willing to begin manufacturing panels this way. I would welcome any thoughts/ideas at my website. Thank you. (IL is just not a solar "hot spot".)

"" 

Solar's low availability means that photovoltaic cells cannot provide baseload power. They are a useful, but supplementary power source that will not, by themselves displace construction of large fossil fuel plants. Centralized solar thermal plants can store heat as tanks of molten salts. They can provide baseload power. However, they use very large amounts of land, displacing native plants and animals, or farmland and food production. For example, if used to bring India (1.12x10^9 people) to a modern industrial economy, about 6Kw/person, solar thermal plants would take square of land 6,300km on a side. Most energy-using regions cannot afford to lose tracts of land on this scale. Since these are problems with the energy source, not with the technology, technology cannot fix these problems, and solar cannot be useful on an industrial scale. This is a poorly-chosen grand challenge.

"" 

Solar energy based upon ground collection is fantastically efficient if you are using the captured heat energy AS HEAT Solar water and building heating can and should be used for the vast majority of buildings. Using heat powered refrigeration in addition, and designing buildings for natural light would take care of a huge percentage of the energy used. This is economical NOW. And would become overwhelmingly so if our energy costs to the customers included repairing/avoiding the associated pollution. Ground-based collection and conversion to electricity is not very efficient, but could work for the vast majority of homes, as the above account for most of their electricity usage. As we have a distribution system build, space-based collection and conversion systems, while not incredibly efficient (multistage conversion seldom is, and space-based power is collected, converted to electricity, converted to microwave, radiated from orbit to the ground and reconverted to electricity. The result is a fraction of what was there--around 17%. But collectors in space take no territory, collect more energy per sq ft, and can have plants added or expanded to meet the foreseeable demand without disturbing the Earth with chemical pollution. Because orbital collectors can generate nearly continuously, storage of large amounts of electricity are not required. Liquid fuels can be manufactured using electricity and local materials in most places, reducing the scale and associated risk such facilities entail. Decentralized sytems are much more robust than centralized systems, and in the long run, this makes them more desirable than centralized systems, despite any cost difference. The construction of a 'skyhook' or 'beanstalk,' an elevator to space, would reduce the cost to orbit from it's current level of hundreds of dollars per pound to a few dollars per pound. This would make our space utilization much more economical. When faced with multiple problems, it pays to examine the possible solutions in which one problem is used to solve another. For example, the solid waste problem and the fossil fuel problem can both be solved by converting solid waste to hydrocarbon molecules. Like debt problems, the first approach to solve energy and material problems is to use less, but more efficiently. Start by having industry pay for the real cost of energy & other resources, including the pollution clean-up. Raising costs always forces people to reevaluate their needs and methods.

"" 

I appreciate the emphasis of the authors. It is also important to keep in mind that solar power also contain heating energy that can be recovered. For example, the back of the solar cell might be provided with a way of bringing the heat elsewhere to do work. This results in the cooling of the solar cells to make them more efficient. At the Ateneo de Manila University, we are undertaking research to bring solar energy into sterilization of water, growing of algae for fish food, heating, chilling, and drying.

"The reason solar is expensive is because it only receives energy from a single sun..." 

Amazingly, the article does not mention solar water heating. This form of energy is the lowest cost and complexity form of energy known to mankind, and already produces way more energy than wind power. I guess the lack of technical sophistication makes it less interesting to talk about - just a black surface with some pipes running through it as opposed to fancy nano technologies... Nevertheless, all humans need and use hot water, even industry, hospitals, schools and so on. The second omission is the fact that mirrors and optics must be applied to solar cells. The reason solar is expensive is because it only receives energy from a single sun -- however, silicon can be made to take the energy from hundreds of suns, using simple mirrors or lenses. 40% efficient germanium cells are now available, and allow more than 1000x concentration. In the future, seeing a normal PV panel will be viewed as a waste of valuable materials. The equivalent to Moore's law in solar exists in applying optics.

"" 

Some things to think about: Economy of scale. Cost of using petrochemicals. Make sure you include the ecological impact and the price of financing world-wide terrorism because of our NEED of crude. Can we afford to NOT pursue solar? We already have a distribution system in place, so why not have a distributed generation of energy? Every house with a solar collector, a few centralized locations (Death Valley, for example), and we should be able to cover for clouds and nights. Suplement that with some wind farms, and in twenty years we should be free of Arabian oil. Then we leave the terrorists without financing, and they can keep their oil.

"" 

We must pick, as a society, the thing that will best compliment the other challenges we face. We must be very carful doing that so as not to disrupt advances in the other catagories. I feel the advances in solar energy will be the thing that acomplishes that end. It is not the total answer and we will be searching for that answer as we move through this life process. But think about this. The sun has been shining and giving life since the start of the solar system without harm to the planet if the correct precations are taken by its reidents. More things on a 12 volt scale might not be so bad. I know my solar fence charger for my horse pasture is great. Thank you in advance of any reply.

"" 

Affordable - really affordable, even in thrid world countires ! - energy from solar power is in my humble opinion an important solution to many of out worlds' problems - energy related monopolies (fully agree with some comments on grid related issues/problems) - development both economically and socially (we should think further than our western world centrum) - climate change and even many other environmental problems so get the POLITICAL courage and MASS INVEST in research in solar power development

"" 

Harnessing the potentials of Solar Energy would go a long way to help balance the Ecosystem from use and abuse of fossilized and hydrocarbon related energy sources.

"" 

In it's simplest form, without any technology, solar creates heat. In PhotoVoltaics, heat is a waste product. But can we flip the tables? Could we imagine how to make heat work for us (beyond simple domestic hot water) to generate electricity? Is local steam generation possible? If all the excess heat we work so hard to eliminate goes through a media for capture, then the energy consumptive systems like air cooling could turn into self generatative functions. Your article said 'useless heat'. Why is heat so useless to us? Evacuated tubes tend to heat very hot water, sometimes too hot for regular hot water storage. If I hand you oodles of heat, what needs to happen to convert it to more versitile types of power? Could we use this solar heat to make steam power? We might store the excess potential in batteries or, more simply, by lifing weights or tension springs during the day that will then release energy for night power. These are simple inexpensive ideas. Heat, generators, lifing, gravity. I realize there is nothing revolutionary here. And perhaps power generation by this method is erratic and not 'pure' enough to run home appliances. But if we can make heat into power at the point of use, then perhaps with imagination and engineering, we can solve each limitation.

"" 

Well...solar tech. needs major improvement, but what we really need is, in my opinion, not another centralized power structure akin to those large power plants of today, not a government backed plan of "socialized" power infrastructure, but a real change in the way we see our cities, towns, and houses. Each should be self-sufficient for power needs, though smaller shared networks could be considered on a community, or block by block basis. Large grid equals potential failure, small grid equals more control over potential failure, self-reliance, and efficiency of energy transport with less potential loss along the way. In addition, retrofitting homes needs to be something that can be done by a home owner. Perhaps smaller modules to power specific products should be created with the ability to link to additional modules as time. money, and energy needs increase. A multi-module system that is easily expanded would be especially useful. One that could start with a small module to power a single light and be added on to power an entire home would be smart.

"" 

For the millenia solar energy has been one of the primary needs to sustain life on earth. It has been THE energy source. I have to wonder if to capture this energy economically we may have to radically rethink how and why that energy is used, Can our lights and machinery utilize a different energy input? Can solar light itself be concentrated and stored in someway to iluminate our buildings differently than providing a 277 volt power source? Must we have power supplied in conventional Power grid fashion? Can we build solar steam generators on a smaller scale to replace the mega multitude of boilers out there? Can these be used to individually power our plants and processes? Can and will we use solar energy to provide a heat sink for and in conjunction with other technologies? Maybe preheating domestic water supplies rather than 100% need. Perhaps this may be where the efficiencies of capturing solar energy may exceed the current power gen efficiencies maybe even raise those in the use of other power consuming technologies? Geo souce style heat pumps come to mind for recovering that heat in a highly efficient manner. These technologies are in current though very limited use. I wonder again if the greatest use of solar energies may be in an assist to current individual technologies where power consumptions can be reduced 30, 40,50%. Starting in the co-assist style energies untill and if 70% plus generating capacities can be reached with an alternate power use scheme.

"" 

I can rent a complete photovotaic system that this company will put on my house and maintain for a contracted period of 1,5, or 25 years. no sytem purchase costs no intallation costs no maintenance costs no permit costs no performance worries no rate increases Check it out at www.sunfedhomes.com

"" 

yes,yes,yes afordable !!! afordable !!! afordable !!!

"" 

We already, in theory, have a very viable solution and that is Dr. Mark's patents for lepcon and phototherm. Unfortunately, they need the money to move forward. Their potential products could yield about a 70% efficiency in a sunlight conversion to electricity. They have the storage devices as well. His company should be brought to the front of the line because he is the only innovator in the field who's energy yield is 3-5 times more than all other solar yields.

"" 

Whether it is economical or not is only one issue and not the most important. The most important question is "is it energetically viable?". The average silicon panel does not deliver enough energy from the sun to even pay back the energy it took to make the panel and associated systems. Therefore, solar panels are not "green", because viewed cradle-to-grave they are net consumers of energy and, therefore, net carbon PRODUCERS.

"" 

What's baffling is that while advanced Solar Energy is without a doubt one of the most important challenges facing the USA, the current Bush Administration is actually cutting funding for Solar Energy. I think that the American Public deserves an answer why? Possibly the majority of scientific and engineering community is grossly mistaken in our understanding of the importance of Solar Energy and someone in authority from the current Bush Administration could provide an in-depth and well thought out rebuttal.

"" 

My concern about solar is that it is just global warming in disguise. Essentially, global warming is an increase of sunlight being trapped in the earth's ecosystem over time. Solar energy, though it does provide power, also dramatically increases the absorption of sunlight. Were it to be done on a huge scale, would this not be the same or worse than what extra carbon dioxide is doing in the atmosphere (trapping too much sunlight)? I wouldn't mind seeing a comparison of the overall sunlight trapped by a megawatt of power production from solar vs other power production schemes. In my mind, a truly sustainable scheme has to be a cycle, just like nature. One where energy is taken from our existing environment, and then replaced back after use. The only methods that fit this scheme in my estimation are 1) wind... we take power from the wind and pump heat back to the air after electric usage 2) Geothermal heat pumps... we take heat/energy in the winter and pump back heat/energy in the summer 3) Biomass... we take the sunlight and carbon from existing natural environmental growth and pump back carbon/heat. I'd love to hear comments on this.

"" 

According to a public broadcasting television documentary on solar power recently, the US government since Reagan has decreased funding and support of solar research in the US, while the Germany government has embarked on a program to install solar panels on a fairly massive scale using incentives to private installers and companies to target solar for 20 percent of energy production. It appears that the US has great research, development and capital potential in developing solar, but its efforts may be negated by interests in the government to protect the status quo, while Germany appears to have great government support, but limited somewhat in these potential research capabilities, as it is a smaller country. Thus, will power in addition to solar power technology itself may play a role in the rate of advancement of solar energy in the US.

"" 

Although I feel it's vital that we create an affordable solar alternative, reduce carbons and provide energy from fusion. I'm very disappointed in this panel's lack of understanding grass roots concerns. Most Americans (as well as consumers worldwide) are fed up with the reliance on one source of energy to power transportation. Although, the panel's 14 "challenges" all have merit, the lack of vision and focus of average Americans concerns is disappointing. I understand that the above mentioned challenges could lead to an alternative energy solution for transportation, however, it was not a lead effort which is a lead thought in most consumers minds. Dare mighty things!

"" 

The Citizenrç REnU program is the first to give you the chance to adopt green "solar" energy in your home without having to make a huge investment. http://renu.citizenre.com /index.php

"" 

Economical solar energy will help us clean the air, moderate global warming, and probably lead to greater political freedoms and basic health in a lot of third world countries. Solve this problem and it will probably be the greatest achievment of this century.

"" 

I believe the best way to take advantage of solar energy is to use it on a grand scale and as a dual purpose. If it were possible to accomplish we may solve more than one problem. My theroy would be to use our major highways and cover them with solar panel roof systems. This would provide miles of land to capture the sun plus our existing power lines parallel the roads any way. A possible benefit would be to eleminate weather conditions on commutes. Expensive but return on investment could be free power, safer commutes and possible electric vehicles.

"" 

Why does almost every house and building in Turkey, a relatively poor nation in comparison to the US, have solar water heating systems installed and in the US the expense of installing this rather simple system is prohibitive to most?

"" 

Solar energy must be enabled for captive power generation-initially for household. Imagine a world where at every home except water and food others - information , communication, entertainment,civil utilities-are powered locally by the sun. This will leave the other sources of energy available for industries and others.

"" 

I think it is disgusting to try and continue our polluting ways - regardless of whether or not you believe in global warming. It is time to stop thinking of the earth as our personal playground and take some ownership over what we as a collective do. Effective solar is the platform on which we can build all these other goals.

"" 

To begin with, let me say that I'm a third year materials engineering student, so maybe my view on things are a little naive. But here goes: I believe that the development of new solar energy technologies are extremely important. Increasing efficiency, reducing cost and prolonging the lifespan of these solar panels WILL eventually take us to a time of sustainable energy consumption. I also believe that equally important is to alter the lifestyles and mindset of people. When people are willing to make changes to their lifestyles, our demand for energy will also decrease. For example, in China, almost all urban housing is constructed from Portland Cement. To begin with, the making of Portland Cement uses rotary kilns which uses vast amounts of energy and produces a significant amount of greenhouse gases. During service, cement also conducts heat a lot faster than wood and insulation composite panels (as used in North America). This means people will turn up their heaters, and use more energy on heating. This has to do with the mindset of people. They consider cement to be a high-class material and wood to be a cheap, "replacement" material. If engineers and scientists can change this, there will be great steps in reducing our energy consumption. I spent 8 months of last year in Germany working for an optics research institute. While in Europe I noticed a few things which pointed to the fact that European nations had a much higher environmental consciousness than North America. One thing that really struck me during my time there was that the use of aluminum cans for beverages was almost NON-EXISTENT. Soft-drinks and beer were sold in glass and plastic bottles. A lot of times when you buy a bottle of Coke you'd know its not the first time the bottle has been used, because the bottles are scratched, and they form a ring of white at their widest parts because they rub against each other in transit. Everyone returns their bottles for refund when they are done with them. I cant say I've ever seen a recyclable bottle in the garbage. In North America, we use millions and millions of aluminum cans daily. Although we recycle 95% of them, I'm sure the energy used in putting aluminum through furnaces is still a lot more than sanitizing glass or plastic bottles. Through all of this, what I'm trying to say is: there is not a good enough understanding of sustainability in some parts of the world for us to make the transition to solar energy easier. If we are truly serious about this, work must be done to educate.

"" 

Man has so far exploited each and every economical resource that has been naturally available. I am sure all the fuel resources are exhausted and there is a immediate urgency for the solar energy to come into picture. There is a necessity to revolutionize the field of solar engineering.Earth can be saved from several crisis and the most important advantage of this solar power is that to reduce the effect of global warming on earth, so being a future engineer,knowintg the adverse effects of the present ecological inbalance in the world strongly urge that solar energy is the only solution for all the crisis on this beautiful world of ours

"" 

Now it appears we are beginning to think outside the box. Solar Energy to create hydrogen for use in a fuel cell, be it in a home or auto....hydrogen is the cleanest fuel available. In the late 1960's, I worked in inverter technology and our inverters got the input from hydrogen fuel cells. It was rather primitive but an entire small subdivision was powered. With energy we have yet to harness the power of the oceans. The tides are regular and predictable. This could also be used to run generators to make electicity.

"" 

Cheap, plentiful energy resources are what allowed the modern world to be created. The old fossil-fuel sources are running out, and without a vast new source the entire system could collapse. Solar radiation is free and abundant, and is the most desireable energy source to use if only it can be made enexpensive to capture and store. Of all the "challanges" listed, only Clean Water comes close to the fundemental necessity needed by all people to live on this planet. If cheap solar power was a reality, it would reduce the environmental pressures caused by coal, oil and nuclear fuels. And it would allow us to live as we do today without further harming our planet and our well-being.

"" 

I am a multi degreed engineer, an MBA, held a PE license in numerous states, have 35+ years experience engineering fossil and nuclear power plants, and have studied "advanced" systems such as solar cells, and fuel cells. Unless you are willing to pay $2000/ month for your light bill, solar electricity will not work. Not now. Never, unless unknown breakthroughs in material science occur. It works for calculators, but not for large energy loads such as the grid. However our structures could readily utilize cheap designs, which would easily utilize, or insulate thermal energy. However, there is no profit in them, no recognized demand, and no code requirements. Indeed there are strong interests which fight code upgrades. These are technological areas wherein NAE could contribute. Example: I designed and built an evaporative air conditioning system, a 9 ton unit, which costs about 7 cents per day to run. I have used it for 14 years. It works fine, but could be improved. It required some modest civil - structural design decisions. (I have zero interests in commercializing this concept.)

"" 

Not as expensive as is made out to be. We had a system fitted with a 50% government grant. It will pay for itself in about 12 years (this includes energy efficiency). Introduce a Geramn feed in tariff and get on with it.

"" 

Solar power would provide a cost efficient, green, and accessible way to address some of the other key issues: potable water, better global hygiene and improved health, reduced dependence on oil cartels and "even" the geo-political playing field, etc. It would eventually free up money to commit to the other outstanding challenges. Thank you for the opportunity to respond.

"" 

I believe that this is by far the biggest challenge we face as humans. I am a chemical engineer and an environmental consultant by trade. I am not certain global warming exists, nor that we are causing climate change. There is very little data, politicians are using it for their own agendas, and the scientific community has yet to really weigh in or start testing. I however think that Solar Energy is definately the way to go. It is a resource of limitless possibilities, that has been long ignored. Especially after the advent of the internal combustion engine (which may or may not be the cause of a lot of our problems). But like any good engineer I think that if we want to effect any change or start to improve our quality of life we need to be more efficient as humans. What is more efficient then harvesting something that we do not have to mine, drill for, or worry about every disappearing (at least not in our life times or our Great Grandchildren ^10)? I think that it is time to start looking at alternative power in one form or another, but as long as we depend on sources of energy that are expendable, and that have supply chains easily cut we will never evolve and deal with social issues, or our own basic humanity (the whole I want what I don't have mentality). This is that first step and right now when we have a reason to start investing into the future we should, instead of hemming and hawing.

"" 

At the moment the initial outlay is financially high, and the return when attempting to power the "average" home are very low. Meanining many years of use before it becomes close to being financially viable. Therefore at the moment only the greenest minded will bother. I think it needs to be made far more effective. I would love to go solar, but will not consider it until it can provide one hundred percent of my power requirements.It is just not worth the planning applications, expense and disruption of installation if only providing a small percentage of requirements.

"" 

I think that affordable solar energy, on both industrial and personal scales, will go a long way toward alleviating greenhouse gas emissions, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and their associated political liabilities, and spurring other technological advances. Long-term and widespread use of solar energy will also give humanity a deeper connection to the universe beyond this one planet and perhaps encourage us to look more outwardly and "to boldly go where no one has gone before."

"" 

Let me just say that I adore engineers. I am a 70's liberal artsy-type female. My education in rigorous thinking, my rudimentary understanding of how the world works -- entirely due to hanging out with smart electrical engineers in graduate school. As to the current problem. No doubt terrorism, health, nitrogen, carbon, etc. are important. We are, however, facing an immediate meltdown of the world's financial system, and an abrupt tipping point right here, right now. From relative prosperity and entitlements galore, we are beginning to see personal insolvency. Personally, I think the foremost need is to eliminate household expenditures until the pendulum stops swinging. Community-centric living and working makes a lot of sense again. Re-acculturating homesteading skills, reviving a fixit economy, and becoming self-reliant in energy will go a long way towards redirecting mass unrest to productive ends. Energy self-reliance has a phenomenal added benefit. Ceasing payments for imported oil cuts off the flow of money which promptly finds its way into islamofascist activity. We stop funding the terrorists. MY vote is for energy self-sufficiency, be it solar, fusion, fission, reclaimed methane, whatever. I foresee living on the equivalent of $400 per month in fifteen years upon retirement, assuming I can cobble together a living until then. Those other great problems are nice to solve and all, but the energy issue is central to my personal survival. Well, you DID ask for opinions.

"" 

Solar technology is already pretty far along and since petrol prices are likely to rise further, solar energy will be economical soon enough. Solar's disadvantages are that it only works when there is sunlight available and when it generates more power than there is demand, the energy needs to be stored in some fashion. There has been some discussion of putting solar panels in space but this would require a quantum leap in the efficiency, reliability and cost of earth-to-orbit space travel.

"" 

We need a solar absorptive material that can be conformally coated onto motor vehicles, boats, aircraft, etc. That way, a parking lot, airport, or marina full of craft in the sun can be not just sitting and baking, but CHARGING, even if he efficiency is not terribly good at first. : ) S

"" 

Adoption of solar technology is a rather complex subject to approach, currently the advances in the efficiency allowing more energy to be produced from solar cells than are required in production make the widespread use appear more feasible. In terms of those lucky enough to live in countries where the choice is purely economic it appears to be more a matter of marketing than of engineering, solar is a beautiful technology which even Benjamin Franklin had great respect for, however as a majority in 1st world countries flip a light switch without thought of how it turns on, simply enjoying the light and warmth provided. If the motivation to use solar technology became as widespread as the motivation to use petroleum in our vehicles then it would take relatively little time to adopt, in the mean time it is left to early adopters aware of the benefits of sustainable energy, and major corporations whose motives are to create profit.

Returning to the approach of creating the motivation, how can the common consumer become motivated to pay a premium for energy that will still be around for their grand children's grand children? That is the question I would like to have answered. Until such a wave of motivating desire is created, and without the adoption of green economics which include environmental costs I see little widespread value in the use of solar, and thus a very small premium which will be offered until the cost of fossil fuels grows beyond the cost of longer lasting sources of energy.

"" 

I think that it would cost approx. $40K to install solar panels to power the majority of our electrical needs. That is too much for us to consider, but if the cost could be reduced to $10K or maybe even $15K we would probably install a system.

"" 

What ever happened to concentrating solar powered metal vapor magnetohydrodynamics? This is one of those many ideas that people have but can't get any traction for, and the real lesson is how do we get some of these ideas out, whether they are for renewable energy or anything else where they can do some good? There are a lot of engineers with great ideas or even proven technology that is some sort of orphan from an old project that could go a long way toward solving problems in other areas, but few engineers have the time or personal resources to be enterpreneurs and bring them to market. How can we capture all of these ideas?