In theory, that goes a long way towards solar alone meeting national power demand during periods of sunny weather, but a typical winter's day requires 70 GW of capacity.

That fact is driving a rush from both sides to get out in front of an expected surge in small-scale solar power systems by creating a regulatory framework that best fits their agendas.

Each solar home system uses a solar panel installed on the roof of an individual home.

As the solar market expands, word of mouth will spread, and it will become easier to find new customers without the need to hire as many people in sales. Solar power, in essence, is contagious.

Producing a significant amount of electricity from the sun means building large-scale solar arrays, and that leads to the question: Where to put them?

With Commerce's decision to further tax solar panels from China, “the U.S. government is actually creating a module shortage that will make it hard for the U.S. solar industry to reach it's 2015 and 2016 goals.”