Biggest solar power deal!!

awesome!

It's a start... about 15 years late, but a start nonetheless.

One decent step in the right direction!

If you're seeking training & education options to help you enter the North American renewable energy sector, consider looking into one of the many new programs now available in Canada.

http://www.CleanEnergyClassrooms.ca, the Canadian Guide to Sustainable Energy Training, is a comprehensive portal to a variety of programs and courses, from wind turbine technician diplomas to online courses in project assessment.

Excellent!

Now if we can get the Vermont hippies to stop whining "not in my back yard" maybe the Green Mountain State can get on board.

Well there is a plant in Seville Spain already online that uses the same technology. I am sure that some sort of back up technology will be use in order to store the massive amounts of energy produce during the day, even if the plant is not "steaming".

Also steam can be recoverable (in the form of energy) or salt water can be used. Both technologies are being used in refineries in Venezuela to recover energy that otherwise would be waisted.

Read this article from BBC about the plant in Spain.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6616651.stm

Also there is an interesting development on recoverable energy technology being develop in Formula 1 cars called Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems, or KERS that is evolving rapidly, this may open doors for practical purposes in those kinds of plants.

Never mind, graphic is up.

The technology isn't the familiar photovoltaics — the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity — but solar thermal power, which concentrates the sun's rays to create steam in a boiler and spin a turbine.

Where is the water for all this steam coming from in the Mojave Desert?

Good step in the right direction for sure!

There's certainly a whole lot of desert out there to utilize.

If it sounds too good to be true ...
How much power do you suppose it produces at night? Zilch, zippo, nada. How much does a city like San Fran consume at night? It looks great, but we need a couple nukes running 24x7 in the background to fill in on clowdy days and at night so why bother wiht the mega-expensive solar panels?

It appears that while this is a step in the right direction we have failed to understand the true scale of the problem. Maintaining our current level of consumption in not sustainable. Period. The per capita energy use of each American must be reduced through widespread cultural change. The "renewable energy" lifeboat we are all waiting for will not arrive soon enough. Hyper individualism and the cultural myth of limitless growth make this a tough pill to swallow.

Finally we decided to go green. This is the first step of energy independent. If we keep doing this way across all states, we are able to be fully GREEN in just around 15 years. The technology then getting better and better, cheaper and cheaper, every single house roof will be made of solar panel. The world then change. Happy to see those Middle Eastern living by drinking their oil (no body in the world will buy oil any more).

:)

Ooo, I just wish it would not take four more years to start producing.

I agree this is another step in the right direction. In my opinion the largest barrier to widespread use of wind and solar energy continues to be the lack of progress in the search for better battery storage. When the wind doesn't blow consistently and/or the sun doesn't shine consistently the power still has to come from somewhere (which usually either means fossil fuels or nuclear - there is hydro of course, but it is well spoken for already and so environmentally dangerous that I don't think it wise to look THAT direction any longer. The other promising technologies, geothermal, wave energy, etc also need that battery component, which just is not available yet, although scientists, engineers and industrialists are certainly making admirable progress (understandable from both the perspective of the great gift such technology would be to humanity AND the fact that every major advancement in battery technology makes the "advancers" filthy rich -- hey, as a motivation money still works pretty well!). In many parts of the country, including mine, there is also a huge problem of lack of transmission capability. All of the wind and solar power in the world is of no value if there are no large "pipes" (transmission lines) to carry it to the region that needs it. And considering that it usually takes upwards of 10 years to build a major transmission route, the problem in not one that can be resolved overnight. I mention all of this mostly because I think a lot of people get frustrated that there isn't some kind of instantaneous transition to renewables. Like most big problems this one is not that simple. MY big hangup is that I just cannot fathom why anyone would even consider supporting even one more nuclear plant when we have such enormous waste storage problems already. But then, I am sure there are economies that are ready to rocket skyward if they could only get access to adequate power and are desperate for whatever solution presents itself (doesn't change my position, but I sympathize).

research and development is key to a sound energy future.

It's good but it's not happening fast enough for me!

this is a good plan for once... cuz i learned once that theres sunshine in desert........

This is great. Keep these kinds of deals coming. We need them. Can you immagine the alleviation of guilt once you know you are operating on sustainable energy. No more "Shit, i left the light on".

still not enough... more more more! It'll create jobs I can fill.

You see, who said it is not possible? Hey vladbox, Don't you have the Firefox current bar? You should have grabbed the other picture on the post. I think you can go back and do it.

This has me so excited!!

Hopefully this will not hurt other species there, but I think it is a great start.

By the way--it will be awesome when we all see a massive surge of wind and hydroelectric power. Wonder if there's any movements going on like that yet?

Whoa. It looks like the world is finally turning to alternative energy rather than the bullshit material stuff. I really hope this isn't that last wave of alternatives things we see in history. GET THAT DAMN OIL BACK IN THE GROUND FOR GOOD!!!! :)