The Solar Century

The debate over solar power centers on the economic costs and benefits of rooftop solar home systems specifically, such as the 3,200-watt system on my family roof in Oakland, which meets our total annual electricity needs. The argument is that solar power mounted on individual family roofs typically costs 25¢ per kilowatt hour or more (and sometimes more than 40¢ per kWh) - far more than many other options to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions - and thus state and local solar photovoltaic subsidy plans are not the best use of scarce resources.