Eco-preneurs are stoking California’s solar power industry with billions of dollars in venture capital, augmented by state and local government subsidies, according to the New York Times:

In recent months, the industry has added several thousand jobs in the production of solar energy cells and installation of solar panels on roofs. A spate of investment has also aimed at making solar power more efficient and less costly than natural gas and coal.

Entrepreneurs, academics and policy makers say this era’s solar industry is different from what was tried in the 1970s, when Jerry Brown, then the governor of California, invited derision for envisioning a future fueled by alternative energy.

What’s different this time around, the Times reports, “is the participation of private-sector investors and innovators and emerging technologies.” These start-ups are exploring ways to make a solar panel that can produce electricity as cheaply as fossil fuels, a crucial goal if we ever hope to tap into solar power’s potential as an alternative source of energy. Currently, it costs three to five times as much as coal, so until the tech geniuses in Silicon Valley can figure out a way to make it more affordable, solar power won’t seen as a viable alternative by the Powers That Be.

The promise of solar energy is, well, as plain as day. Will all this new money and enthusiasm finally bring us the breakthrough we need? Jerry Brown, now California’s attorney general, is sunny about solar power’s prospects but warned the industry not to come off “as flaky,” according to the Times:

“Don’t get too far ahead of yourselves”You will be stigmatized. Don’t use too many big words and make it all sound like yesterday.”

The former “Governor Moonbeam” has seen it all before. Two facts of daily life remain unchanged from that earlier era when solar power sputtered; the sun still rises every day, while petroleum levels drop. Which technology would you rather bet on?

Find out more about solar power at solarenergy.org.