Another is the cost of installation.
The cost of installation is about $50,000 per intersection.
Even with a subsidized energy price, the initial cost of installation is beyond most people's budgets.
The federal government also chips in with a tax credit of 30% of the cost of installation.
(The cost of installation, he said, can run $200 to $250 in the New York City area).
But today only about 10% of the world's households have fibre to the home, because the cost of installation compared to copper is still prohibitive.
But those numbers balloon with the cost of installation equipment and all the intermediaries' fees, including an often hefty hospital markup.
He said the larger debate was over the cost of installation and whether it should be voluntary or mandated by law.
The cost of installation, reckons the company, should be about half that of conventional panels.Solyndra is chasing the market for commercial rooftops: factories, warehouses and supermarkets.
The two companies said they would share the cost of installation and the revenue, but declined to reveal more detailed financial information.
Supersky Products, Inc., the company hired to put in the new skylights, said the cost of installation would be $3.2 million.
