Save Money, Go Solar

For the last fifty years, we've been told by serious men in white lab coats that solar power is right around the corner and before you know it, we'll all get free electricity from the sun.

That sounds good, but here's the reality: Jumping into solar power pretty much meant you were an electronic hobbyist, an off-the-grid new-ager or a space shuttle engineer. The technology -- led by the so-called photovoltaic, or PV, cells that convert the sunlight to electricity -- wasn't ready for prime time.

At least until now. PV technology has improved dramatically, installing a solar system has become simpler and having a bunch of black panels on your roof no longer sends the signal "I'm delusional," but rather "I care about global warming and my wallet" -- things readers of my new book The Millionaire Zone care about.

So when Google (GOOG), a company with cash in the bank, hippies in the finance department and a corporate mantra of "do no evil," decides to build the largest corporate solar power system in the world at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, it isn't a tough decision.

Google gives thanks to government and utility rebate and subsidy programs. But I'll bet its decision was based on a lot more than that.

Soaring electricity prices, especially for large users, and the declining cost of solar systems are working together to make the ROI picture much more attractive. Add tax and local utility breaks, and solar is beginning to pan out for the average Joes and Janes -- not just the Googles -- of the world.

Click here for the video version of this story from Jennifer Openshaw.