Why the World Still Uses Coal, Oil and Natural Gas

Coal, oil, and natural gas are still dominant sources of energy despite the fact that renewable energy is getting more and more supporters. Wind power and solar power are becoming increasingly popular but coal, oil and natural gas have founded our economies and industries meaning they still have very strong political support.

Fossil fuels have more than just history on their side, what they also have is advantage in costs. Renewable energy is sadly still significantly expensive option compared to fossil fuels, and lower costs are really the key component that gives fossil fuels an edge.

Renewable energy technologies are constantly developing, and their development is dropping prices so they are getting near the prices of fossil fuels (especially wind power that is currently the cheapest renewable energy option). However getting near doesn't seem to be enough, and coal is thus still the most dominant energy source in the world, and world's greatest source of electricity.
In about 150 years time fossil fuels would likely be depleted, and world will have to have a decent replacement ready. From the current point of view using renewables looks like the only option capable to replace coal, oil, and natural gas but this is far future from where we are looking today.

The Nanotechnology Solar Cell Revolution

     There is little debate that we need to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels, but the costs of renewable energy platforms such as solar make it difficult. Nanotechnology definitely offers the answer.
Solar power is considered one of the better renewable energy platforms. Enough sunlight hits our planet each day to meet our world wide energy needs for an entire year. On top of this, solar energy is a free power source, since nobody can corner the market on the sun. Solar power is also good for the environment since it produces none of the emissions that are of such concern today, specifically carbon dioxide greenhouse gases.
If solar is so great, why don't we see more practical applications? The problem lies in the applications. Specifically, we have no way to harness the power. Commercial solar cells are very inefficient. Current models on the market only convert about 8 to 13 percent of the sunlight hitting them. This inefficiency makes the cost of producing energy via solar platforms too costly. So, what can we do?