10 million solar panels?

Only in Vermont you say.

Senator Backs New Solar Power Initiative

An idea to put 10 million solar panels on 10 million buildings in the United States is a good start, said an advocate for the replacement of fossil fuels and nuclear power with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

“It’s a brilliant and visionary idea to put solar energy into the middle of the discussion on energy,” said Arjun Makhijani, the president of the Institute of Energy and Environmental Research. “A goal like that is very important because it will mean the solar manufacturing industry will have certainty that there will be a demand at the other end.

Makhijani was responding to a proposal put forth by Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-VT, that would encourage the installation of 10 million rooftop solar units on homes and businesses over the course of 10 years.

This next article provides a big business perspective on the economic prospects for solar.

The economics of solar power

A new era for solar power is approaching. Long derided as uneconomic, it is gaining ground as technologies improve and the cost of traditional energy sources rises. Within three to seven years, unsubsidized solar power could cost no more to end customers in many markets, such as California and Italy, than electricity generated by fossil fuels or by renewable alternatives to solar. By 2020, global installed solar capacity could be 20 to 40 times its level today.