Bright prospects.(solar energy)

Economist (US), The, March, 2007
Energy: Solar power is in the ascendant. But despite its rapid growth it will not provide a significant share of the world's electricity for decades

LAST year Microsoft outfitted its campus in Silicon Valley with a solar system from SunPower, a local company that makes high-efficiency (and, some say, the world's best-looking) solar panels. A few months later Microsoft's arch-rival, Google, began building something on an even grander scale--one of the largest corporate solar installations to date. But all of this may yet be topped by Wal-Mart. In December the retail giant solicited bids for placing solar systems on the roofs of many of its supermarkets. Besides producing favourable publicity, the appeal of using solar power is obvious. Unlike fossil fuels,...