Solar Power Works On Mars
But they tell you it won't work here.
That rover just goes and goes..
If you spend enough, it works. The problem with earth-bound solar power is that the components are not made in large enough quantities to obtain the manufacturing efficiencies needed to compete with other power sources.
The other problem is that we use a lot more power. The rovers were optimized for very low power use -- which is also expensive. The need for more energy in our homes then requires correspondingly more collector space. Using lots of land for solar collectors has problems. The only way to get enough space is decentralized -- use the top of every house. This requires a lot of retrofitting and so takes a lot of time.
Edward