Facing the sun

It looks like Duke Energy has launched its solar roof farms idea just in time, after an Environmental Protection Agency board effectively halted construction of all new coal-fired power plants.
News agencies across the country are reporting the ruling by the four-judge panel known as the Environmental Appeals Board has blocked a permit being issued for expansion of a power plant at Vernal, Utah.
The appeals board took its cues for the ruling from a Supreme Court case, Massachusetts v. EPA, in which the justices decided that carbon dioxide is a pollutant that should be regulated under the Clean Air Act, as the New York Times reports.
The decision on the Utah power plant impacts the proposal from the Bonanza Coal Power Plant, as well as for any pending permit request for coal-fired plants. Wired.com notes in its article that puts more than "100 coal plants into regulatory limbo."
The Environmental Appeals Board sent a message that the EPA needs to develop a nationwide standard for carbon dioxide emissions, Wired reported.
As demand for power continues to rise, and progress on coal power generation has to wait for regulatory action, investment will likely flow toward clean technology like wind and solar, Wired quotes David Bookbinder of the Sierra Club.
So Duke Energy looks like it's ahead of the curve, having already started planning a program to use roofs in its service area to generate electricity from solar.
Analogous to a farmer leasing another's land to grow crops, Duke would lease rooftops owned by individuals and businesses to erect solar panels on, NPR has reported.
This is a change of philosophy for the North Carolina-based utility, long a user of coal itself to serve its four million customers. NPR reports the idea is to spend about $50 million to take advantage of the sun shining on roofs in the Tar Heel state.
Duke would own the solar equipment while renting space from its customers and sending the power to the grid for general use.
Part of the impetus has come from a mandate from North Carolina for utilities to generate a percentage of its electricity from renewable sources.
This idea seems to be a first in using existing structures rather than building solar arrays from scratch, the NPR report said. Duke Energy officials expect their utility can invest in solar technology, making it more economically viable for others, as well as keeping down the expense of using solar for customers. 
It's an intriguing idea, using what might otherwise be considered wasted space to meet growing demand for power without generating more air pollution.
Taking into consideration both the Environmental Appeals Board and the willingness of a gigantic utility to move toward power from the sun, these actions may finally herald a ramp-up to large scale solar power operation, after several decades of languid growth.
Another key to a switch to solar is a more compact, more cost-effective and more efficient photovoltaic cell in order to clad more surfaces of our houses and skyscrapers with power-generating materials.
Solar panels that would feed directly into the grid — without individuals having to buy storage and regulation equipment — would also seem necessary and sensible.
Maybe there's a chance that power stations could become old fashioned and even an anachronism.