The anti-Solyndra

"Kickstarter" is a website where inventors can try to raise money for projects.  I just plunked a little money down on two guys who have an idea for micro-solar panels that can be made locally with easily available materials and will last better than traditional solar panels.  More on them here in Popular Mechanics.  They also have an old idea for project involving membranes that vibrate in light winds and produce very small amounts of electricity without turbines.  Their focus is on wind and solar power that can be produced very cheaply for small households, using devices that can be repaired cheaply and locally:   Just the thing for the zombie apocalypse.

Send $10, and they'll have lunch on you.  Send $35, and eventually you'll receive a Solar Power Kit, though I'm afraid it may not arrive in time for putting it under the tree.  For $10,000, they'll come to your town and put on a big bash.