Some of the biggest

boosters of solar power will be utility companies, eager for a clean source of

electricity that will enable them to produce more power without new

billion-dollar plants. Both as consumers of solar technology and as the

promoters of home solar panels, utilities will drive much of the industry’s

growth into a brighter future. “Utilities are beginning to realize that they’re

going to have to get on the solar bandwagon,” says S. David Freeman, general

manager of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). “If they don’t and

rates go up sharply, people are going to pull the plug on the utilities.”