Wal-Mart Launches Solar Power Initiative

"The giant retailer says it will install solar rooftop panels at 22 facilities in California and Hawaii that will provide as much as 20 megawatts of electricity, for prices less than it currently pays local utilities...This deal matters for two reasons. First, it's a vote of confidence in the technology of generating electricity from solar photovoltaic panels; that business is already growing by 30 percent a year in the United States. Second, it's an endorsement of a relatively new business model in which the solar power companies pay the upfront costs of installations and retain ownership of the systems, and enter long-term contracts to sell electricity to their customers."