There are many house in Colorado run using solar energy. My mother's building is one of them. The problem is that in many states there is not sufficient sun to provide enough power to make it cost effective. Here in NC is a great example. Solar energy could provide approximately 10% of the required energy but at 120% of the cost! When it is cheaper than oil it may be a viable alternative. Yet what to do about those other 18 hours in the day when the energy is used up? :o)



>>Sure. Wind, Solar, hydrogen. They're out there, but with Bush and Cheney so closely aligned to the oil industry, don't expect too much to happen along those lines. The last thing they want is free (or nearly free) energy. If solar is developed to the exent it should be, then you can buy the hardware and not have to pay for it over and over every time you use it. Sorry Sam, the answers are out there. They are just not being properly persued.
>
>I think the major reason why solar isn't out there is that it makes the end consumer independent. If you're making your own electricity, dang, how do we charge you? Won't our profits go down the drain?
>
>The same thing goes for fuel cells. Somehow they're developing miniature fuel cells to power up laptops and cell phones, and yet there are only a couple of electric cars using them.