America's Power Crisis
 
The solar roller coaster
American homeowners waiting in the wings for solar to become more mainstream -- and less expensive -- can edge closer to the spotlight thanks to a major extension of solar tax incentives slipped into the mortgage bailout package signed by President Bush last week.
• How does 100 mpg sound? Automakers are fast-tracking production of plug-in hybrid cars
 
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Thar she blows
Even with today’s credit crunch and falling energy prices, money continues to flow for new U.S. wind farms, as major wind developers race to build the nation’s first offshore project. The stormy Atlantic and other locations beckon with the promise
of some of the richest rewards in the business.
• Alternative energy’s muddled future: Election promises and bailout bill provisions suggest upturn for investors, but uncertainty remains
 
CONSUMER NEWS
Put it in my backyard
Wind power may sound great, but how practical is it? MarketWatch's Stacey Delo
(far left) visits Robin Wilson, who has installed a 45-foot, 700-pound wind
turbine in the backyard of her 5,000-square foot San Francisco home.
• Unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway takes BYD stake
 
Previously in our special energy report:
 
UPGRADING THE GRID
New tech for old wires
Faced with the threat of a major crisis from handling increased loads with 100-year-old equipment, electric power providers are planning to spend $17 billion for new technology to shore up the nation's aging power grid.
• Buy less of our product? Industry pushes customers to conserve
 
COMMENTARY
Keeping the grid alive
Failure to keep pace with America's need for reliable electricity would leave the country in the lurch, with an economy leaning on a creaky power infrastructure. Excelling at the task would give the country a much-needed competitive boost
in the global arena.
 
How the grid works
From generating stations and the transmission process to delivery to customers, see how electricity is distributed throughout the grid.
 
Superconductor
solution
The $60 million Holbrook Superconductor project in Long Island is the world's first
transmission power cable moving waves of electricity from the grid to a substation that feeds U.S. homes.
A smarter,
faster grid
Andy Tang, director of PG&E's Smart Grid, tells Stacey Delo about innovations planned for the 
power grid in the region and how new technology will affect the grid's improvement and stability.
 
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