Actually I thought the flashlight battery was a good analogy for the present use profile that the photovoltaic cell presently naturally fits.
In a free market the photovoltaic cell can not compete on its own against electric utilities for supplying power to consumers and industry. It in the real world the photovoltaic cell is an occasional use device. Its real consumers are campers and preppers.
>>Its real consumers are campers and preppers.
And legitimate off-grid uses. Buoys in remote areas, hunting cabins in the middle of nowhere, etc.