When finished in 2013, the concentrating solar power project will be able to supply green energy to 90,000 homes. The Mojave Solar plant is being built upon 1,765 acres of an abandoned alfalfa farm just west of Barstow, CA and will use less water than the farm did to operate.

According to Abengoa Solar, “The plant uses parabolic mirrors that are arranged in long troughs and track the sun’s movement continually during the day, concentrating the solar radiation onto a heat-absorbing pipe at the focal point of the mirrors. A heat transfer fluid circulating inside the pipe reaches temperatures of more than 700 degrees Fahrenheit. This heat is then used to generate steam that drives a conventional steam turbine.”

If you’ve ever driven through Barstow, you’ll soon realize why some call it the “armpit of California” and what better place to put a large solar facility than a place where summer temperatures typically exceed 100 degrees F.

The new Abengoa Solar plant excites me for several reasons. First, since it’s only 86 miles from my home it will be easy to take an occasional trip there to check it out, take pictures and see the progress of the facility.

Second, I also live in San Bernardino County and as a resident, I know that last month the unemployment rate was 14.2-percent, which is quite a bit above the national average. While not solving the unemployment problem in the county the Mojave Solar project will provide 1200-plus good green jobs in the area. And, third, maybe I’ll be one of the lucky recipients of this green solar power in the future.

The Mojave Solar project is just one of many in the works right now that will offer good green jobs to many and bluer skies for all.

This consumption of water especially in the southwest states of Arizona, Nevada, California and New Mexico may add a burden on these states to come up with what is needed. But, there are a couple of complications. First, environmentalists may not accept the diversion of water resources that can damage native fish and other wildlife populations.

Second, in states such as California that is coming close to rationing water in some parts of the state a large solar facility will add an extra burden. And, a third complication is that in places such as Nevada the water rights and property rights are separate.

So, this third complication may mean that farmers won’t want to give up their water rights to have a large solar farm constructed in their backyards. On the flip side, there are investors who have speculated in buying water rights on properties for the sole purpose on making money in selling these rights to a presumed nuclear or solar facility in the future.

The large solar companies are trying to keep these battles out of the courts by negotiating with the states, environmentalists and smaller water rights owners. But, with this much complexity and competing interests there is a high likelihood that a few judges will be brought into the mix for good measure.

Ersol Solar Energy AG (Ersol) donated 98 panels of 130 watts each. Without the solar panels the only means of electricity for the health clinic (which is fairly remote and about 60 miles from the nation’s capital) is a noisy, polluting diesel generator.

The VHW clinic mostly helps fight HIV/AIDS in this third world nation. Besides installing solar energy to remote African locations, SELF also delivers wireless communications, water pumping and purification and drip irrigation systems.

SELF is a selfless organization that not only takes care of the needs of the poor nations but does so in a green and global-friendly manner.

At this point consumers may see the value of installing solar panels and cost averaging them over a 25 year period in order to realize the savings. Or better yet, some solar panel installation companies will do this for you.

They will install the solar panels for free and then charge homeowners a flat monthly rate over the next 25 years for the electricity produced and in most cases the cost will be less than that charged by the large utility companies.

The solar grid parity situation will also create jobs for entrepreneurs who will be able to compete head on with the utility companies. Given a choice, many consumers will opt for even monthly payments from solar energy rather than paying the winter / summer rates and changing fees from the utility companies.

Also, homes in sunny areas will be less affected by blackouts and brownouts in summer months during peak demand. In fact, in some areas, homeowners will be able to sell solar electricity back to the utility companies and roll back their meters. And this would be a sweet situation to be in, now wouldn’t it?

The sunlight is then converted into chemical energy. The Dutch scientists are using concentric nanotubes to replicate the structure of plants at the microscopic level complete with high levels of chlorophyll inside the nanotubes.

The varied structures of the chlorosomes and chlorophyll mean that light can be absorbed in a wide range of wavelengths. In addition, the chlorophyll can even be activated in very low light conditions.

The key findings include a helical structure and dense packing of chlorophyll in the plants. This means more energy can be absorbed, yet the plant is protected from too much sunlight. The Dutch researchers hope to be able to create solar cells based upon these plant cell findings.

The efficiency of the solar cells is increased by as much as two percent, which is significant for this renewable technology. Because of the etching, the reflection is reduced to less than five percent overall. As much as 10-percent of the light hitting traditional solar cells can be reflected due to dirt and dust build up on the surface.

The solar etching technology allows rain and dew to wipe the photovoltaic surface clean. Even in desert areas there is enough dew at night to remove dust from the cells. The ability of dust and dirt to bead up with moisture and roll off is called superhydrophobic.

Self-cleaning solar arrays will also help in the longevity of the photovoltaic panels, which will reduce overall costs. With the new U. S. Stimulus Package favoring solar energy, many will keep a keen eye on this technology going forward.

In fact, these glass and composite solar roadway panels are so tough that an 18-wheeler can flip over on them without wiping them out. They also have to be durable and cost-efficient compared to asphalt, not to mention they will produce electricity for homes and businesses nearby.

The solar roadways have to beat the current low ball cost of $16 per square foot for asphalt with a life expectancy of over 7 years. Solar roadways could be used in residential neighborhoods, near schools and businesses to supply power. Right now the highways and byways of the U. S. collect heat and tire wear and give very little back.

The solar roadways will change this by giving back electricity that is renewable, decentralized and cost efficient when economies of scale are taken into consideration. Under the current U. S. stimulus package, President Obama wants to hire construction companies to repair roads and bridges.

He also wants to put people to work building solar panels and other photovoltaic projects. Solar Roadways combine these two goals into one package by employing construction workers in the photovoltaic industry and vice versa.

Solar Roadways has just been named a finalist in TechInsight’s EE Times fifth Annual Creativity in Electronics (ACE) Awards. So, the next time you’re driving down the road, think of how solar-powered streets could one day be supplying electricity to the homes and businesses in your city and neighborhood. Now, blink and fast forward a couple of years, and this may just be a reality.

Well, no, like all devices solar panels have to be maintained. And, it is this very fact that keep some homeowners shy from purchasing a solar panel system in the first place. How many people for instance would like to be crawling upon their rooftops on a steady basis to clean their solar panels?

But, a company named Heliotex has decided to address this problem head-on and design a system that cleans the solar panels for you. By regularly cleaning the photovoltaic panels homeowners can recoup up to 30-percent of the lost energy that dirty panels can have.

Dirt, grime and other particulate matter can also physically degrade the solar panels as well, so keeping them clean will help extend their life. In a time when squeezing every penny counts, letting the sun shine through in full effect will have a positive effect on the greenness of your home and your bottom line.

The Chinese solar panels will combine crystalline silicon-based and thin film technology. This will rival another 1 GW solar installation that was announced about a month ago. Amelio Solar stated this they will be building a 1 GW solar farm in Jordan using thin-film photovoltaic technology.

In China, the Qinghai New Energy Group and China Technology Development Group Corporation will start building the giga-scale solar farm in the Qaidam Basin later this year. The basin was established as an Economic Experimental Zone for renewable energy by the Chinese government in 2005.

Currently, every 7 to 10 days another coal-fired power plant goes up in China. Over the past two years, coal consumption has jumped 14-percent per year. Quick and decisive action needs to be taken in China to reduce coal dependence and switch to renewables and the 1 GW solar power plant will be a jumpstart in the right direction.

But, this year several locations have gone the solar tree route. First, in the Philippines, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes powered on a 40-foot Christmas tree powered by solar energy. The switching on of the solar tree is part of the SWITCH 3 Light-A-Million-Homes program.

Second, in Boone, North Carolina 150 showed up on 20-degree weather for the lighting of the town’s solar Christmas tree. The event was organized by the Appalachian State University Sustainable Energy Society.

And, third, perhaps the most well-known Christmas tree, the one at Rockefeller Center in New York is also powered by solar energy. This world-famous tree stands 72-feet tall with 30,000 lights upon it. The lighting event this year featured Beyoncé Knowles, Rosie O’Donnell, Tony Bennett and Al Roker.

Now, I suppose if you are going to go to the time, trouble and expense to light a large Christmas tree, then doing it as greenly and economically would be the way to go. But, doesn’t it seem a bit ironic to cut down nature’s solar collector (a tree) just to power it by sunlight once again?