by Bohdan Rewko (Bo of T.O.)

Created on: November 17, 2011   Last Updated: November 18, 2011

Historically speaking, the use of electricity to power the world is a relatively new phenomenon. It is therefore understandable that mankind continues to fumble around at finding the most effective means to generate and use electricity. Within the hundred and eighty years since Michael Faraday gave us the first electro-magnetic generator, we have seen the planet transformed by electricity's countless and extraordinarily diverse applications. At the same time we have locked ourselves into a perception that electricity can only be delivered effectively by means of monstrous power generating plants and a high voltage grid of wires crisscrossing our continents. Although this may continue to be the case for a while, perhaps it is time to rethink our paradigm. Whenever we experience a major black-out, many undoubtedly start to wonder if there is not a better way.

We now live in a century where satellites and remote desert homes are powered by our largest source of direct energy - the sun. If we stop to think about it, converting the sun's energy to electricity is simply the most efficient and economical long-term solution to our electrical needs. For as long as there is a sun shining, we will have a source of free and clean energy. What's more, the silicon used in the formation of most photovoltaic cells, is among the most plenteous and atomically stable of elements. So, even though we will need supplemental forms of energy during those dark winter days, why can't the sun become our primary source of electrical power?

What then keeps us from taking a leap into the future? Fear of change and the uncertainties associated with it are perhaps our worst enemies. The recent collapse of Solyndra, an American solar panel manufacturer, is just one example of what can go wrong when capital ventures into the unknown. Some politicians blame China's unfair trade practice of flooding the American market with cheaper panels that are produced with the aid of government subsidies. But that's half the truth. The other half involves manufacturing a complex product that could not compete with simpler flat panels from China. Because the federal government provided Solyndra with over five hundred million dollars in loan guarantees, many think it may be a while before some politicians and investors want to revisit the solar solution to America's energy needs.

But there's more to the story. In fact the major reason why photovoltaic solar panels have not taken off in North America is that

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