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Solar power is taking off around the world. Capacity and installations are growing between 30-40% a year, supply can hardly keep up with demand, venture investment is reaching Internet bubble levels ($264m in 2006), and IPOs are popping with furious abandon. And yet, solar still barely registers in the sum total of global energy production it represented some .04% of the energy mix in 2005. Can such breathless growth be sustainable? Will, and when, will solar become significant on a local, regional, national, global scale? We have long argued that a disruptive approach would hold the most promise for the development of solar technologies and business models at scale. Compared to conventional power sources, solar is inherently disruptive it excels on certain underappreciated dimensions of performance (it is distributed and emission-free) while being considerably less good than coal, gas and oil when it comes to traditional metrics like price and energy density. To maximize their chances for disruptive success, companies could, for example, initially target regions with underdeveloped infrastructure where solar would compete against nonconsumption of electricity rather than ubiquitous and cheap grid power. They could pursue low cost solar technologies that attain price-competitiveness without the help of government subsidies. Or, they could focus on applications that require portable power where recharging is a pain. One such promising niche application was previewed at the annual CeBIT fair in Germany the other day. A Chinese mobile devices company called Hi-Tech Wealth is releasing a solar-powered cell phone that will get 25 minutes of talk time from 40 minutes of charging in the sun. The phone will also be able to draw on indoor light, and will, theoretically, be entirely self-sufficient on standby mode so it will never have to be turned off. This is interesting for at least three reasons: 1) Niche applications for portable micro power are great breeding grounds for solar technologies and business models. Batteries are worlds most expensive form of energy and recharging cell phones, laptops, and mp3 players can be a hassle. As far as electricity needs go, this is relatively low hanging fruit. 2) It is not surprising that this phone is coming from China, which has less developed power and communications infrastructure than much of the western world. There is much greater need for self-sufficient mobile communication devices there, and thus much greater incentive for innovation. 3) Wireless charging capability can be a powerful new feature for cell phones, generally. Mobile device manufacturers seem to be caught in an endless race to pack as many features as they can into phones; Motorolas RAZR made such a splash a few years back because it differentiated on another dimension of performance form and style, rather than features. Differentiating in this way might be a new avenue to success, especially in the developing world. The emergence of the cell phone decentralized communications, unlocking all sorts of new consumption. It liberated consumers from the wires that tied them to their homes and officesexcept for that pesky charger (and personally, my phone charger always seems to be either underfoot or lost at the exact moment I need it). Solar-powered cell phones promise to relegate that last wire to the dustbin of history. See: http://www.trustedreviews.com/mobile-phones/news/2007/03/20/CeBIT-2007-Self-Suffient-Solar-Mobile-Unveiled/p1