Some 77 million Indian households depend on kerosene lamps and candles when the sun goes down. Green entrepreneurs are looking to spread the light with affordable solar panels.
More homeowners are cutting energy costs by installing solar panels, due in part to leasing programs that require no up-front investment. Leasing means less hassle, but may also save you less money.
The solar industry employs nearly 174,000 workers in the U.S., up 22 percent from a year ago. But the industry's future is murky, as government subsidies are set to expire within two years.
Utilities say consumers who put solar panels on their roofs should help pay to maintain the lines that carry the power they sell back into the system. Panel leasing firms say that's anti-competitive.
Integrating solar panels into a bike commuter path, a special roadway outside Amsterdam will generate power that's then funneled into the national energy grid.
With the price of solar panels falling, more municipalities and homeowners are installing them. But having solar panels doesn't mean you won't lose power in a blackout — at least not yet.
Creators of a solar-powered aircraft hope to fly it day and night across the U.S. with no fuel, and eventually around the world. It's a quixotic — some might call it nutty — undertaking. But the creators hope the flight helps challenge assumptions about what solar technology can do.