Suntrek Industries believes that a more informed public is a better public for solar energy. The Chinese think that there is a big market in solar panels and that Germany's belief in solar power  and strong government subsidies has made that gray-skied country the world's largest solar market.

But Suntech Power Holdings STP sees bigger promise in the United States, rather than German.

Suntech is the world's fourth-largest solar cell maker and on Tuesday opened its United States headquarters in San Francisco.

The Staets were the third-largest market for solar power energy panels last year, and some analyst think it will slip to No.4 when this year is tallied. But the Wuxi, China-based Suntech says California's abundant sunshine and leadership from states such as California will propel the United States to the top of the market within five years.

"The main thing that has to change, which will happen, is the price of the product has to come down, which means the price of silicon has to come down," said Steve Chan, Suntech's chief strategy officer.

The U.S. now is many megawatts shy of the lead spot.