Cost, for one thing. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere with no power lines it is generally cheaper to run the lines than to go solar. Also, there is not a lot of information readily available in regards to how to make it work for individual households and who to call for help. There is little publicity about the possible tax credits, grants and effectiveness of alternative energy. And there is this idea that many people seem to have that we really do not have to worry about oil dependance because things are “just fine” in their daily lives. Why change?

The reason is the cost of solar panels. As more people start buying them, the price will become more affordable and more people will use them.

Can you smell the money? Look at our government for the answer to that. Contact your state reps and senators and put a little pressure on them. It won’t help, but you will feel better for trying.

I believe “necessity is the mother of invention”, meaning that if the price of energy rises high enough for example, then people will start using less energy to save money. Then, new energy technologies that have been in development right along will finally start to compete in cost and people will start using those technologies more and more as their cost comes down. I think experts would say that energy costs will rise a lot faster in the next 20 years than they did in the last 20 years, so consider what investments might benefit from that trend.