Alex Richard BIOL 4015 Hot Topic Assignment- Solar Energy Article location: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1813954,00.html Solar energy contains ultra-thin sheets of flexible plastic which are then coated with chemicals like indium, gallium, and diselenide. These chemicals allow the module to convert sunlight into usable energy. Many solar energy-producing companies, such as Global Solar out of Arizona, are expanding into brand new factories. This company has just recently increased production ten-fold in the last calendar year alone. There has begun a shift from older, thicker crystalline-silicon solar modules to thin layers of photoactive chemicals. Though this new thin film production is cheaper, it has been proven to be incredibly difficultto mass produce. Although, it is the hottest part of the fastest growing new energy source in the world. The global solar market is projected to increase from $13 billion to $32 billion by 2012. However, companies like Global Solar and another Arizona-based solar company named First Solar do not generate the most buzz in the industry. The company named Nanosolardoes. The reason for this is Nanosolarhas recently announced it will be selling thin-film panels at $1 a watt. What is so shocking about that number is that energy from the sun now becomes cheaper than energy from coal. The controversy over solar energy includes a number of problems. First, it is generally very expensive to install solar panels. Secondly, they take up a lot of space. The more power you need, the more space it will take up. You may find that your roof is not at a good orientation or angle to the sun, which make the installation on your roof less effective or not possible. You cannot make solar power at night, so you must find a way to be able to store it. Also, if any bad weather moves through, which is constant in Louisiana, solar power is useless at that point. The weaknesses of the viewpoint in the article are that they only...