BP Solar

Fluctuating gas and electricity costs are driving the building industry's interest in solar power systems and fueling the market's growth. More

By Stephani L. Miller. Late last year, the U.S. Department of Energy sponsored a Solar Decathlon, an event that pitted 14 teams of architecture and engineering students against each other to see which could design, build, and operate the most energy-efficient and aesthetically designed house powered entirely by solar energy. For two weeks during September and October 2002, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., hosted the Solar Village, where the teams' houses were evaluated by industry experts and toured by the public. More

Solar power generation—or photovoltaics (PV)—has been around for decades, but only in the past few years have homeowners and builders begun to seriously consider it on a wide scale as a way to reduce energy costs. More