U.S. firms working to lower cost of solar energy

One piece of the American effort to find a way to make solar energy cheap enough that everyone will want it is unfolding in a modest redbrick building in this Midwestern city once known as one of the nation's top makers of glass.

Xunming Deng, a physicist, started a solar company in Ohio eight years ago as a spinoff from his research at the University of Toledo. He's attracted $40 million in venture capital, and designed and purchased manufacturing equipment. He now thinks that his Xunlight Corp. is on the brink of profitability and fast growth. It expects certification this spring and is getting ready to ramp up production, according to a March 11 McClatchy report.