sinbadsgold, last year I invested in ARISE Technologies and made good money. They went up several fold, I then sold, they dropped in more than half only about 1-2 months ago, but suddenly now they are back and approaching their high. I am kicking myself for not buying in again at 1.2-1.3 $/share.

 I think solar still is a good play but personally I think I missed the latest bottom and will again wait for a low.

The main problem with solar is that the earth(at ground level) receive about 300-600 Watts per square meter and present cells are only around 15% efficient, meaning that you get 50 to 100 watts per square meter of installed cells. The silicon used in these cells is very pure and it takes a lot of energy to produce in the first place, probably something equivalent  to the cells being in operation for about 10 years or so. It is a very long energy payback time.

Nano-technology, may be - probably, but again the big issue will be cost and energy to produce. Remember you can only collect what the sun provides, not more so you need a large area of solar cells, or you can use mirrors to concentrate the energy to produce steam, and from that electric energy.

Timminco was a very big winner last year and still is doing very well. They are mainly trying to refine solar grade cheaper and at less energy. Personally I am trying to keep my eyes open for opportunities, but it is so easy to miss out on opportunities. As Portree said, you have to try to get in before most of the crowd and that is hard. Good luck