There's no doubt that solar energy has many environmental benefits in comparison to the more traditional method of burning fossil fuels. For one, solar energy is clean - in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, using solar energy to supply a million homes is like removing 850,000 cars from the road. In addition, solar energy doesn't require drilling or mining, so it preserves natural resources.

While The Earth's surface receives enough sunlight to power the planet's energy needs many hundreds of times over, the biggest hurdle is that the sunlight is unevenly distributed, both in space and time. In the United States, for example, it's just not sunny enough on a regular basis in most areas to make solar power cost effective year-round.

Since the distribution of sunshine is out of human control, it'll take innovations in technology and delivery, or additional consumer incentives as is being done in Delaware, in order to make solar energy a competitive player in the energy market.