The drive to innovation by so many diverse companies is the one quality that attracted me to investigate the advances in solar technology in 2005. I recently came across Skyline Solar http://www.skyline-solar.com that has taken a unique engineering approach to utility-scale solar installations (the smallest system is 100kW but scalable to multiple megawatts). I was also impressed by the thinking of Bob MacDonald, CEO Skyline Solar, who wants to use idled automobile factories to produce the metal components of its system. See his article at
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/02/silicon-valley-and-the-rust-belt-a-combined-solution-to-separate-problems
Novel approaches to manufacturing can both reduce costs and yield a rapid ramp-up to utility-scale solar installations.
Go Solar, Go Green! 