The California Energy Commission has granted approval for the development of a 500MW solar thermal factory in Riverside County. The facility will hold two solar thermal power plants, each with a generating capacity of 250MW. Each plant is anticipated to generate enough electricity to power up to 150,000 homes and prevent roughly one-half megaton of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The company says that the…

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced last Tuesday that construction will begin on the world’s largest solar power plant, which is to be built in Blythe, California. The facility will use Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology to deliver 1,000 megawatts of generating capacity — enough electricity to power 300,000 homes annually — and will span 7,025 acres of federal property in the Mojave Desert. Since the plant will be “dry-cooled”, it will use 90 percent less water than a standard “wet-cooled” solar thermal system of this kind. Solar Trust, the project’s developer, plans to use water from the Palo Verde Mesa…

Curious about the ecological “footprint” you’ll leave behind on this planet? Want to be more environmentally conscious? By answering a few simple questions, the handy Ecological Footprint Quiz will estimate the impact you will leave behind for later generations. Afterward, you can learn how to minimize your consumption by using more sustainable products, housing, foods, services, and transportation. To take the quiz…

Through an arrangement with the Indian Parliament, the Punjab Energy Development Agency has invited bids for installing an 80 kW solar PV system. The solar array would provide battery backup for the Parliament building in the off-chance of a blackout, however over 50 percent of the generated power would be fed back into the grid. The project would help promote the use of solar PV systems which remain unpopular due to the high costs and lower efficiency when compared to other…

On top of the dangers of fighting a war against a terrorist-ridden nation, a huge challenge for the soldiers in Afghanistan is obtaining power, diesel fuel and clean water for military bases around the rural countryside. Soldiers sent out to refuel and gather clean water are put at major risk of attack. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been working in Afghanistan to uncover other sources of power and diminish the necessity of such trips — which are costly, dangerous…