Will solar energy come into the mainstream?

Sun power provides less than 1 percent of the U.S. energy supply

December 9, 1997
Web posted at: 12:07 a.m. EST (0507 GMT)

(CNN) -- In the 1970s, solar power was going to save us.

In the save-the-planet afterglow of the first Earth Day and the scramble for alternative fuels during the Arab oil embargo, widespread use of solar power -- a clean and abundant source of energy -- appeared to be just around the corner.

The Carter White House even got a solar water heater.

"By the end of this century, I want this nation to derive 20 percent of all the energy we use from the sun," President Jimmy Carter said then.

Carter left office, and the 1980s, with its ethos of conspicuous consumption, distracted America's attention from the benefits of solar power for at least two reasons:

CNN's Miles O'Brien reports

Federal research dollars for study of solar power dwindled after the Carter administration, and oil became cheap and plentiful again.

Now, just two years away from 2000, the sun provides less than 1 percent of the U.S. energy supply.

But another president is talking about it:

"We will work with businesses and communities to use the sun's energy to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels by installing solar panels on 1 million more roofs around our nation by 2010," promised President Bill Clinton.

Already, 10,000 American homes are being entirely powered by solar energy. Sacramento, California, has been leading the way, with solar systems being installed in houses and businesses for four years.

"We think solar is very much alive and you're going to see more of it," said Energy Secretary Federico Pena.

"Now that you see many states restructuring their electric industries and allowing more competition, you're going to see more of these companies come into those communities and sell their products, like solar or wind or other renewable energies," he said.

And, now that the world is talking seriously about cutting greenhouse gas emissions, solar may have its day in the sun.

Correspondent Miles O'Brien contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• Solar-powered house makes light of utility bills - April 28, 1996
• Utilities working to bring down cost of solar power - April 6, 1997

Related sites:

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• Solar Energy Industries Association
• The University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering's Solar Energy Lab
• The American Solar Energy Society

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

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