Gone with the wind | Jamie Dean | Jul 17, 10

WORLD Magazine Gone with the wind Jamie Dean Jul 17, 10
"About once a month, Robert Bryce climbs onto the roof of his Austin, Texas, home, lugging a long-handled mop.
The science writer and Manhattan Institute fellow isn't cleaning gutters.
He's cleaning solar panels.

The 3,200-watts of solar photovoltaic panels provide one-third of the electricity that Bryce's family consumes, slightly reducing his monthly power bill.
But the panels aren't without problems: The start-up costs were high, the inverter has already broken once, and the panels require regular cleaning.

Bryce quickly wondered if the panels were worth the investment, and he soon realized that the limits of solar power for his Texas home extended to the rest of the country:
Solar power won't run America anytime soon.
Neither will wind power."