Not long ago, it was announced that search engine giant Google had committed major investments in solar technology. Since then, more and more companies have become aware of this biofriendly renewable energy source and are embarking on solar projects. General Motors, for example, has decided to build the world`s largest rooftop solar power source at their Zaragoza, Spain, automotive assembly plant. The 2 million square feet roof surface will comprise about 85,000 solar panels and will generate circa 12 megawatts, which is enough power for 4,575 Spanish homes. In the United States GM has two large solar installations already in place. Both are in California, at Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, providing 1 megawatt of power each.
Now, significantly larger solar power plants are on the drawing boards. In India, at Haldia, West Bengal, a 250 MW solar facility has been planned and is expected to become operational by 2011. Meanwhile, BrightSource Energy plans to build a 500 MW solar plant in the Mojave Desert in California, which is claimed to be the world`s largest. This plant is similar to a solar plant near Seville, Spain, but on a much larger scale. More than 1,600 large mirrors will concentrate the sun`s rays and direct the beams at a boiler atop a 60-meter tall tower. The sun`s energy will heat the water inside the boiler and create superheated steam of over 1000� F. The steam is routed to steam turbines that generate the electrical power. BrightSource claims that this installation will provide power at a much lower cost than other solar installations.
The Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) company has signed an agreement to buy up to 900 megawatts of solar power from BrightSource, but it does not stop there. It is also purchasing another 800 MW from two other companies, Optisolar and Sunpower.
In an even larger project, BrightSource plans to build three solar power stations in Nevada, northeast of Las Vegas, with a total capacity of 1,200 megawatts. With this and other projects, BrightSource will provide enough solar electricity to power over 3.2 million homes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking a million cars off the road.
To top it all off, the Clinton Foundation is planning a gigantic 5,000 megawatt solar project that is to be built as part of what is called the Integrated Solar City in the Gujarat state of India, at an estimated cost of almost $12 billion.
Solar power is an excellent source of clean energy, especially in parts of the world where sunshine is abundant. With the current concerns about global warming, it can`t hurt to trap some of the sun`s heat for the world`s energy needs. This will also lessen the demand for power stations operating on fossil fuels, with the result of less pollution, fewer greenhouse gases and cleaner air. Another advantage is that these solar power plants can be placed in deserts, where there is plenty of sunshine, which puts those barren areas to good use.
Another approach to achieving a cleaner, more biofriendly environment is by using fuel more effectively. One company that is contributing to this cause is Biofriendly Corporation, which has developed the Green Plus� liquid fuel catalyst that provides a cleaner, more linear fuel burn in internal combustion engines, resulting in fewer harmful emissions, increased torque and better fuel economy.
For more information about Green Plus visit the Biofriendly website at click
Graph Solar Power Technology Gains Momentum
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