The future of solar power and more specifically its induction into widespread practical use is largely a matter of money. Skeptics of renewable energy are always quick to dismiss this staple of the Green Revolution by drawing on the comparison that coal and other fossil fuels are still much cheaper.

Many utilities companies feel torn that they cannot contribute to the shift toward green power alternatives without raising their customers’ prices to unfair levels. Worse still, they fear that such a move would render them unable to compete in a cut-throat market in which the steep curve of technology can reverse trends almost overnight.

Economists predict that the target date upon which switching to solar power is equivalent in cost to coal-based electricity is only about a decade away. Fortunately, the cost of solar power today is made easier on the environmentally conscious consumer through federal tax incentives and increased property resale values.

It sounds unlikely, especially in developed countries like the United States where 80% of the national electrical capacity is supplied by coal refineries even today. But a few regions have dramatically altered the energy-production landscape with bold new legislation, and courageous initiatives that have combined to make up astonishing levels of power grid reliance upon clean, and renewable energy resources like solar and wind power.

California, thanks to the green power projects of Governor Schwarzenegger’s administration, has achieved an output capacity of 45 cents on the dollar for every kilowatt-hour consumed. Other countries around the world have focused on this example and seem eager to follow-suit. Still, no company, and no one place in the world has the market on competitive innovation cornered: scientific knowledge and convergence of different photovoltaic theories is happening at once around the world. The future of solar power seems increasingly bright for visionaries who can continually find ways to push down manufacturing costs, while maintaining the high-efficiency performance of solar cell technology.