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At the current time any available solar installation is very good at what it does, and that is reliably transfer the solar energy that they absorb into useable electricity for whoever’s power grid they are attached too. But they are admittedly inconvenient and usually too small to fully meet the energy needs of whomever is relying on them. Installing the grids as tie-ins with public power grids solves this problem, but it still leaves humanity relying on fossil fuels for power.

However, solar power, for all extents and purposes a limitless source of energy that is accessible to humans across the globe, has exciting possibilities on the horizon that have the possibility to transform and revolutionize how individuals and groups generate their electricity.

One limitation of current solar power panels and cells is that they only absorb certain wavelengths of solar radiation (AKA, light). Multifunction cells, which are in development currently, would use numerous types of substances layered on top of each other in a strategic pattern. This would allow sunlight to pass through layer after layer, each using a different wavelength until the whole terrestrial wavelength spectrum (as the most dangerous and powerful wavelengths are blocked in the atmosphere) can be turned into power, increasing the efficiency and energy output and maintaining the amount of space used.

Also, more distant on the horizon, are thinner more durable panels that could be applied in different materials, generating solar power window blinds or solar power paint for instance, all of which would be micro-connected into the power grid of the house of business. Thus an entire city could be turned into a massive solar power station, every little source adding into the main power flow, every little bit chipping away at our reliance on fossil fuels that do not renew.