PV Gap

Deborah Said:

What you all think about SOLAR INDUSTRY? WHY THE COST IS STILL SO HIGH?

We Answered:

The main problem is the cost of development is too high and there are few people adopting it. When the number of people that adopt it and the productiion rate goes much higher the the cost will go down

Brett Said:

What you all think about SOLAR INDUSTRY? WHY THE COST IS STILL SO HIGH?

We Answered:

The price is so high for photovoltaic cells because of the precious materials used in them: Platinum, Rubidium, etc. This will not come down because there is a limited supply of these (and Platinum is often wasted in jewelery just like diamond. Both of these materials have great properties for commercial and scientific products but the price is inflated because they look shinny).
There are ways to make copper/copper oxide solar panels, but copper price is on the rise, too.

The best way to capture solar energy is with mirror farms and greenhouse farms. The mirrors focus the sun's light on a central point, and is used to boil oil, which passes through a turbine. The greenhouses use greenhouse material over a large area. The air inside is warmed, and will rise through an elevated opening and through a turbine.

So, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but individual solar power will probably still be a luxury item into the near future. Building large solar farms and adding them into the grid just like any coal or gas plant is probably the most efficient solution.

you may be interested in this, though:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?…