Technical English: Solar Energy.
SOLAR POWER
Had it not been for deliberate, powerful obstruction, the solar sources of energy could have been shown long ago to be the best, immediately profitable energy option for most of the U.S., for most people on earth, by functioning installations.
The sun is our most important source of energy, by far. It warms the earth's atmosphere, vaporizes water from the oceans, drives the resulting clouds by means of winds to the continents, where they cause rains and rivers. These drench the thirst of people, animals and of plants, which draw their energy directly from the sun and pass it on to us when we eat them. That has been going on since prehistoric times. Now it can do a little more. It could provide all the energy needed by a modern industrial society worldwide for the indefinite future; which no «conventional» energy source could do. It could do it easily, without the pollution and hazards associated with those exhaustible sources. Most people still would like that, especially if they knew that it can be done profitably.
They are not supposed to be aware of that, and a major effort is expended to make them believe that it would require economic sacrifices rather than benefits.
In the 1970s, there was widespread enthusiasm, and a genuine grassroots movement emerged in the U.S, in anticipation of an imminent transition to an economy based on the solar sources of energy that came in the wake of the first «oil shock» and boycott (~1973). There are some, who fear a transition to solar power, and they are very powerful and determined.
Instead of being confined to a few small «niche markets», new solar technologies could easily have supplied a double-digit percentage of energy used by now. All that we maintained at the time was that it could be very substantial starting profitably almost immediately.
It was/is the prime example of confluence, rather than conflict, of environmental and economic wellness. It is essential for sustainable development worldwide, i. e. also in industrial countries. The main key to serious direct solar energy is that the sunlight first be focused, concentrated. Inexpensive, high-grade focusing devices could have been available by easy mass-production in the 70s.
There have been (and are) problems associated with solar progress. Of those generally cited, some are real, some phony. The former can induce easy rejection or a search for solutions or ways to bypass the problems. An example for direct solar energy (SE) is that the sun does not always shine even in California. There are various ways to tackle that problem. A claim made that SE is more dangerous than nuclear fission power, because installers fall off ladders, is a good example of the phony kind. That is not to say that working for SE cannot be dangerous.
Some aspects of SE constitute a problem for some but a boon to others. Probably the main example cited as problem is its «diffuse» nature. To the extent that means that the sun shines on every field and roof, rather than concentrating its blessings onto where only giant regional utilities and polluting energy companies tied to them have access to it, it can be an advantage for many more people than associated with those companies.
Without first concentrating the sunlight, however, it would really be too diffuse for important uses such as solar (absorption) cooling, thermal electricity generation or substantial cost-effective photovoltaic power. That explains the special hostility to availability of inexpensive concentrators by those in control. It could have led to major solar proliferation long ago.