Solar Az.




, Green Energy News
February 26, 2008
A solar powered world?

http://www.enn.com/energy/article/31815

Arizona Public Service (APS) has announced plans to build a 280-
megawatt concentrating solar power plant in the desert 70 miles
southwest of Phoenix. The Solana Generating Station, if it were
operating today, would be the single largest solar power plant on the
planet. Solana, with its thermal energy storage, will be able to
operate 24/7 providing power for 70,000 homes.

As big and impressive as it sounds it's only a tiny fraction of what's
possible: According to the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy
Cooperation (TREC), the energy potential from sunlight striking the
world's deserts is 700 times that of the world's primary energy demand
today. Further, solar power generated in the world's deserts could
reach 90 percent of the world's population. Australia, Asia, Africa,
North and South America all have expansive deserts. By satellite
measurement there are 13,500,000 square miles (35 million square
kilometers) of hot, dry, sunlit desert on the planet.

Like the APS project, solar thermal power generation is the best
option for the world's deserts. Not only is it a time-tested
technology that can provide low cost power, cooling water from the
plants can be used for desalinization of sea water. (Energy from clean
sources is a major global need right now. So is fresh water.)

Further, made of glass and steel there are no supply constraints to
solar thermal power generation equipment as with purified silicon
needed for photovoltaics.
..........s

.

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