PV Gap

Christine Said:

What are the economic benefits of using solar energy today?

We Answered:

- Reduce electricity bill
- Avoid future utility and electricity bill increasing
- Take advantage of today's government's financial assistance
- Increase property value

http://www.solarcentral.org/drupal/?q=no… provides details

Carl Said:

what percent of solar energy is used today?

We Answered:

Plants, on average, capture 0.1% of the solar energy reaching the Earth. The land area of the lower 48 United States intercepts 50 trillion GJ per year, equivalent to 500 times of the nation’s annual energy use. This energy is spread over 8 million square kilometers of land area, so that each square meter is exposed to 6.1 GJ per year. This results in potential biomass production of 6,100 GJ per square kilometer per year. Compared to the 0.1% efficiency of vegetation, roof installable amorphous silicon solar panels capture 8%-14% of the solar energy, while more expensive crystalline panels capture 14%-20%, and large scale desert mirror-concentrator heat engine based setups may capture up to 30-50%.

Christopher Said:

is solar energy widely accepted today?

We Answered:

yes?

Lynn Said:

solar energy....?

We Answered:

Solar cells convert sun light directly to electricity it doesn't need more power to do anything, what it does need is storage (batteries or fuel cell) to store the energy, unless it is going to be used immediately. You do need a regulator as the voltage from cells tends to fluctuate with the amount of light/cloud cover.
A number of new types are set to improve the uses of solar cell considerably, from Europe and Australia, flexible cells which will contour to different shapes like car roofs and even cloths, and sliver cells made from slivers of silicon which will be much cheaper to produce.