Even in the case of what light does hit a solar panel, something like 80% of that power is wasted anyway, because the light in question is infrared. The bulk of the output from our Sun in the visible and near-visible range actually comes to us as heat, in the form of infrared.
Now, if there was only a way to collect much of that and turn it into usable electric power.....
And? Fossil fuel power plant efficiency is only ~30-40%, and the waste is disastrous.
Building solar power generation is now competitive or cheaper than fossil fuel even with the low efficiency of panels. So...yeah, it'd be fantastic if solar panels continue to improve over the next few decades, but we can't afford to wait for that to happen to deploy them on a wide scale. And, hell, they last 25+ years. They more than pay for themselves, even at a low efficiency.
Now, if there was only a way to collect much of that and turn it into usable electric power.....