Ron,
you are quite correct that solar is a viable free energy source, and it
works well right now! I put together a system several years ago and
provided about 50% of my yearly electicity for my entire home from it.
It had a photovoltaic array that produced power at a rate of 1500 watts
which charged a 30KWhr bank of batteries. The 24volt DC from the
batteries was then converted to 120volt AC by a Trace 10KW sine wave
inverter. This was tied to the utility's power grid and could
automatically switch power from the grid to batteries or vice-versa if
the power failed. It actually produced a cleaner AC waveform than the
power company's and I sold excess power to the utility when the solar
was producing more than I could use. During the summer months it
typically provided 100% of my electrical needs.
This system was a life saver on numerous occasions. We often had power
outages due to storms and even earthquakes. There were times when the
power was out for several days and I was the only one in town with
continuous electricity. This would always have the side effect of
bringing many neighbors to my house to find out why I had power and to
share fresh brewed coffee and get the latest news on the disaster on TV.
Another benefit was that I never had to reset a clock or lose data on my
computer from utility power glitches since the solar acted as a giant
uniterruptible power supply (ups).
-Gerald O'