Finally... real solar power

I have never understood why we aren't already using solar power all across the country -- especially in the Southwestern United States where it is sunny 360 days of the year.

Surely the corporations could find some way of making a profit -- they can still sell the electricity, and imagine... sunlight is free! No drilling! No messy wars either.

Imagine the climate turmoil we could have avoided if we had accepted the writing on the wall back in the 1970s when Jimmy Carter warned us that we had to become less dependent on foreign oil, and installed solar panels on the White House roof (Reagan in his wisdom had them removed when he took office.)

Would that the oil and coal lobbys didn't have such unparalleled influence in Washington... we'd already be sun-powered all across the country, instead of fighting over every last drop of polluting oil.

Good job California. Leading the way, as usual.

From the New York Times: Two Large Solar Plants Planned in California

Companies will build two solar power plants in California that together will put out more than 12 times as much electricity as the largest such plant today, the latest indication that solar energy is starting to achieve significant scale.

The plants will cover 12.5 square miles of central California with solar panels, and in the middle of a sunny day will generate about 800 megawatts of power, roughly equal to the size of a large coal-burning power plant or a small nuclear plant. A megawatt is enough power to run a large Wal-Mart store.