Solar energy is a developing market which grows at about 31% per annum. It could be growing faster if some consumers could find a way to install solar panels without having the fasteners puncturing composition roof shingles.

There are several large competitors making types of roof panels. Sharp, the biggest producer, makes narrow voltaic panels that interlock and overlap, acting as shingles. In fact they are designed to replace roofing materials altogether. Integrated, locking panels of this type lay overlapping like regular roof tile, can be installed by an experienced roofer. Collectively, they can produce sufficient power in a well planned home and last as long or longer than composition roofing materials, decades.

On the scientific front, a new and capable technology being developed is a thin membrane that is sprayed and bonds to a variety of surfaces. It is sensitive to a spectrum of sunlight that is not used by standard solar gathering materials. This one promises to be very efficient on cloudy days.

The company Siemens has been erecting hundreds of offshore wind parks world wide and boasts of having placed over 6,000 wind producing turbines so far. Protecting our atmosphere from the effects of 10 million tons of CO-2 annually. It also manufactures large gas turbine units that operate at higher efficiency rates, thereby reducing carbon release in tons annually. Along with that, Siemens is also planning to economize AC (alternating current) power loss, by sending DC (direct current) through specially designed transmission lines over long distances before it is converted into AC for common use.