Solar-powered village rises in nation's capital

22 Sept 2011: "Hundreds of college students from around the U.S., and even a handful of other countries, have been busy this week building a village of solar-powered homes on a park at the nation's capital.
  The timing could have been better: The contest comes as Republicans grill the administration over its awarding of a $528 million loan guarantee to a solar panel company that has since filed for bankruptcy.
  The village and the grilling reflect the state of a technology first touted in the 1970s. Solar panels have gotten cheaper and more efficient, creating a new generation of visionaries, but companies are still seeking federal help given competition from China, which subsidizes its industry, and the fact that solar is still more expensive than fossil fuels.…"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44625878/ns/us_news-environment/#.Tn4Y3HOQ5SM
Photo by Stefano Paltera  /  U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon