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Lagunitas School District will be among the first schools in California to implement solar energy. The school district is planning to inaugurate the solar facility that has been installed in the campus in August this year. The installation and implementation has been done in partnership with Solar Power Partners, California, an energy company specializing in renewable energy sources like solar power. The solar facility that the company has installed in.

Lagunitas will account for almost 65% of the school’s power requirements.

The deal, a Power Purchase Agreement, between the two parties is of 15 year duration, and was developed by Solar Power Partners. The company has ownership rights to the solar facility. The deal was struck in April 2008, and the facility will be ready for operation as soon as August 2008, a mere four months later.

The facility is a 58.52 kilowatt (kW DC) one, and is expected to generate around 86,000 kilowatt hours (kWh). The Lagunitas School District solar facility will have carbon dioxide emissions of approximately 70 metric tons a year, which is roughly equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions that are released through the use of 7,600 gallons of gasoline. These numbers have been determined and published by the United States Environment Protection Agency.

“We chose Solar Power Partners because of their expertise and ability to assess our needs quickly,” said Lawrence H. Enos, Superintendent, Lagunitas School District. “They have established a dependable renewable energy system that would not only cost zero out of pocket today, but would help protect the school district against increasing electricity prices. Beyond providing a solution that our school district could never afford on its own, SPP is helping us teach our students how innovation, finance, government, and good will can all come together for the benefit of generations to come.”

Solar Power Partners worked in collaboration with Borrego Solar, using the company’s products for the project. Borrego Solar supplied photovoltaic modules that were sources from Evergreen Solar in the project. These US-made modules apparently have the smallest carbon footprint in comparison to other similar products.

The idea of the power Purchase Agreement is to allow various organizations to install solar facilities at a much lower cost, using tax credits to reduce the capital investments. It also has the advantage of being able to provide power at sustainable and predictable energy levels. This particular Power Purchase Agreement, with a duration of 15 years, will cut back costs at Lagunitas School District to the tune of $110,000. This figure has been arrived at considering cumulative savings, and in the same way, if the school decides to leverage its extension options, the savings could well total up to more than $420,000.

“We have developed a flexible solution that is designed to fit the stringent requirements of school administrators,” said Alexander V. Welczeck, president, Solar Power Partners. “It should never come down to a question of whether a school can purchase a book or help save the planet. We”˜re glad we could set a practical example of affordable sustainable energy for both the public and private sector.”

Solar Power Partners is known to integrate the latest technologies, along with expertise and best practices of the solar energy industry. The company leverages the financing strength that can be gained through the use of Power Purchase Agreements allowing various building owners the facility to achieving energy independence with lower costs.

Borrego Solar Systems is a solar developer, designer and installer of grid-connected solar electric systems for commercial, government and residential purposes. The photovoltaic systems of Borrego Solar are proficient, consistent and economical.

Blake Jones had such strange ideas for his company, Namaste Solar Electric, that he confused many business analysts. Jones, whose company sets up solar power systems in Colorado, had this to say, “We did have a lot of skeptical, raised eyebrows at the beginning.”

“We even have had business schools bring teams of MBA students to come to do a case study,” Jones said.

Industry watchers were thoroughly perplexed by some of his company policies:

All company operations would have to be environmentally friendly.

Employees would have six weeks’ paid holiday.

A mechanism called FOH (standing for: frank, open, honest) would be in force in order to remove idle talk and ill will.

All workers, irrespective of their assigned duties, would be entitled to the same pay scale.

One percent of yearly incomes to be spent for the upkeep of solar panels gifted to social groups.

Landmark decisions made by the company to be based on participation of all employees of the company.

Jones probably hit upon some of the offbeat ideas of his company based on the collective experience he gathered during the process of his recovery from serious financial distress. Namaste is a Sanskrit word that is uttered whilst greeting and means “bow to you.” Blake, a civil engineer, was engaged by Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton, belonging to the oil and gas sector, and spent five years working in the Middle East.

“But something in me realized there is something more. I didn‘t like the overdependence that we have on oil and gas. I think oil and gas, even coal are always going to be a very big part of our lives. But I think what we need to do, is we need a more balanced portfolio. I had a gradual awakening to wanting passionately to work with renewable energy because I thought there was a better way,” Jones said.

He traveled from the Middle East to Nepal and spent three years there installing solar and hydroelectric power units in far flung regions.

Although Jones has to cater to entirely different customer requirements in Colorado, solar energy is gaining acceptance as a viable and long-term investment in the state.

Jones selected a place where the residents are habituated to doing things differently. Boulder is an intensely forested land and offered ample scope for the use of renewable forms of energy.

“There is more interest in solar in Boulder then anywhere else in Colorado. That‘s one example of how environmentally focused our community is,” said Sarah Vanpelt, who is in charge of looking after the environmental concerns of the city.

State incentives that would make possible enhanced usage of renewable sources of energy received the approval of Colorado voters in 2004.

“And Boulder provides a rebate on a portion of the sales and use tax that property owners pay to purchase and install a system, and we use those funds to provide grants to nonprofits to install solar on affordable housing, low-income housing, and on nonprofit facilities,” Vanpelt said.

“So I think we will continue to see growth in the green industry and in renewable energy, both solar and wind,” she said.

Namaste is currently undergoing revamping of its warehouse spanning 15000 square feet in order to house its offices.

It’s adhering to the most stringent standards set forth by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification in this endeavor. This implies use of skylight, recycled construction material and making the building reachable by public transportation.

Also, there is no doubt that the building’s energy requirements will be met by solar units that Namaste specializes in. Outside of a solar awning, most of the solar panels will be installed on the roof.

Marc Smerekanicz, construction manager, had to put in some well thought out ingenuity on his part in order to cater to requests to comply with LEED standards.

“Thinking in a different way than what I was brought up to think of as the construction process, that‘s the way of the future,” Smerekanicz said.

The last three and a half years have seen Namaste doing more business than any other company in Colorado. The company has expanded from just three employees to 45 and revenue growth has taken a soar beyond all expectations.

“Whatever perspective you look at, we‘re being profitable, and it‘s exactly what we need to do to prove that our business experiment, that our company model is going to work,” Jones said.

Lyndon Rive is the chief executive officer of SolarCity, a startup that leases solar panels to property owners. He encourages San Francisco residents to consider and take definitive action on going for solar energy.

Solar energy became a viable proposition in the city, even for those with less financial clout, due to incentive schemes launched by the authorities in July..

The incentive program for San Francisco extends monetary support, to be utilized for the installation of solar panels, ranging from $3000 to $6,000 to property owners, $10,000 to businesses and non-profit organizations and $30,000 to non-profit entities which provide low cost housing. The program is scheduled to stay in effect for a decade.

This drive to encourage the use of solar power complements a matching program to offer a discount of $1.90 per installed watt and also 30 percent federal investment tax credit (ITC) for solar power. These incentives spell good times for even the less financially privileged in their attempt to opt for solar energy as an alternative.

Rive states that a majority of San Francisco residents pay a differential rate for their energy usage- those who consume more power have to pay a higher rate. The rates range between 12 cents per kilowatt-hour and 36 cents per kilowatt-hour, depending, of course, on consumption.

Before opting for solar energy, most clients of SolarCity have had to pay between 23 cents and 31 cents per kilowatt-hour for electrical power. But with the advent of the incentive package, even consumers who had paid as low as 12 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity can be expect to make savings upon opting for solar panels- according to Rive.

“For as low as $25 per month, you can get a 2.4-kilowatt capacity system,” he said.

Chris Clark, who lives in Inner Sunset, a misty area in San Francisco, is almost through with concluding a lease agreement with SolarCity. “It‘s going to reduce our bill significantly with the city rebate, probably 40 percent,” he said. Clark, who has to spend around $120 per month, on electricity bills, is expected to cut it down to $70 per month once SolarCity installs his system in August.

John Stubblebine, who belongs to Cupertino, California, had solar panels fitted out on his roof by SolarCity about a month back. He chose to pay an initial amount of 8 percent on the $35,000, 6-kilowatt solar panel system.

“You can choose to pay zero, 8, or 16 percent of the system. Since I chose to put in a slightly more expensive system, there would be a slightly higher rate without a down payment,” he said.

The immediate upshot of his investment was a reduction of his electricity bill from $158 per month to $116 per month. However, he noted that he was still required to pay a token charge to Pacific Gas and Electric for meter readings. Further, the rates he is required to pay for electricity have been altered from a static rate to one which depends on usage, with maximum rates applicable during the midday, when demand is generally highest.

“You settle your bill with PG&E by the end of the year. If you‘ve used more electricity than you produced, you pay all that. If you‘ve used less, you don‘t get money back,” he explained.

SolarCity, since its inception in 2007, has had enviable growth- from two employees to almost 300 currently- and harbors hopes of at least recording a 100 percent increase on its 30 million dollar profits for the current year.

Despite competition from Bay Area newbies like Sun Run, Clean Power Finance and GroSolar, SolarCity has extended its presence to places like Arizona and Oregon, with plans to cover the East Coast as well by 2009.

Pall Corporation recently made it known that they will be applying eight new technologies to their operations in solar energy and semiconductors. Pall leads the world in filtration, separation and purification and these innovations are expect to increase efficiency of processes and reduce environmental impact. The company will display the new technologies in San Francisco at SEMICON West between July 15 and 17.

The first new technology to be used by Pall Corporation is the resource recovery system, which will help solar silicon (which is vital for the production of photovoltaic panels) manufacturers in two significant ways. The resource recovery system separates the spin-off silicon particles produced during the manufacture of silicon wafers, which are cut from silicon logs formed by de-ionized (DI), extra-pure water. This separated silicon is reused, thus saving resources. The other way this technology will help is by recovering up to 95% DI water, which is quite expensive. De-ionized water is an important part of the manufacture of semiconductors and solar cells, and its conservation cuts costs and also reduces effluents. Thus this resource recovery system recovers both raw material and water used in the process of solar silicon production.

Dr. Vivien Krygier feels that this will be very beneficial on two fronts, saying, “The solar energy industry is constrained by a shortage of silicon feedstock and by the radical price increases for raw material. Pall recognizes that the continued expansion of photovoltaics as a new source of energy will rely on greater process efficiencies that maximize output and produce cost benefits. Pall‘s silicon processing water filtration system answers that need on both resource recovery and cost benefit platforms”.

The second technology to be unveiled by Pall at SEMICON West is the tough PV Blowback Filtration system. This system has been designed to make vacuum pumps (which are essential for the production of silicon wafers in semiconductors as well as solar energy) last longer and protect them from damage. The PV Blowback Filtration system prevents abrasive silicon dust from interfering with the production process, damaging components, and endangering the health of system operators. Downtime, a common problem with the traditional filtration systems, is also lessened considerably.

A new filter assembly has been developed for gas filtration and purification for the production of solar cells. Pall will show their Gaskleen Light Series filter assemblies at SEMICON. These are the only filter assemblies available in the market that are meant especially for solar cell manufacture. The Gaskleen purifier assemblies, which will also be exhibited here, will enhance silicon film production quality and increase yield by contaminant removal ““ the gases used in the photovoltaic manufacturing process often contain impurities and these are effectively removed by the Gaskleen purifier assemblies.

Pall will also showcase the new FlexBowl filter vessel system. This modular filtration solution for wet chemical processing is flexible, economical and a boon to the manufacturers of semiconductors. Advantages of the FlexBowl system include flow rate and filtration cartridge optimization, simpler operations, minimal work area, spill prevention and lower costs as processes are adapted to the new technology. Process engineers are going to be bowled over by this new system for flexible filtration in wet chemical processing for semiconductors.

According to the Senior Vice President of Pall Microelectronics Joseph Bica, “Pall continually advances the state of the art through new filtration, separation and purification technologies that improve process efficiencies for our customers. The full suite of products Pall Microelectronics will showcase at SEMICON West is representative of Pall‘s mission to recognize, understand and respond to our customers‘ complex challenges with sophisticated solutions that apply science in new ways to enhance their profitability”.

Solar power is being increasingly used all over the world as a source of clean, renewable energy. In an effort to increase its renewable energy resources, General Motors has recently made it known that the biggest rooftop solar photovoltaic power installation will be set up on its Zaragoza automobile assembly plant.

This plant, in Figueruelas, Zaragoza, Spain, will have approximately 85,000 solar panels, covering a rooftop area of around 2,000,000 square feet. General Motors estimates that the set up will be complete by the autumn of this year, and will generate something like 15.1 million kWh of power a year. That’s about how much 4,575 Spanish homes with an average yearly consumption of 3,300 kWh will use.

Glad to take the lead in using renewable energy, the Group Vice President of Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations, General Motors, Gary Cowger said, “The Zaragoza project demonstrates proof that GM is actively accelerating our efforts to be part of the solution to the environmental issues and challenges facing our world. We are proud to be a global leader in the usage of renewable energy.”

At present, the General Motors Company already has two of the biggest rooftop solar power installations in the United States of America. Both these installations are in California ““ one in their parts warehouse in Rancho Cucumonga and another in their parts warehouse in Fontana. The Rancho Cucumonga installation was set up in the autumn of 2006 and was the first public solar project over one mega watt in the country. Here, about half the power requirements of the parts warehouse is met by solar energy. The Fontana installation was set up in December 2007 and offers an annual output of approximately 1.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity ““ that’s about how much power 200 homes will consume in a year.

The General Motors Vice President for Environment, Energy and Safety Policy, Elizabeth A. Lowery explains GM’s stance. “As we develop new solutions in vehicle propulsion to reduce carbon emissions, we are also making significant progress in reducing the impact our facilities have on the environment. Our commitment to expanding the usage of renewable energy sources is part of our coordinated global effort to reduce energy, water consumption, waste and CO2 emissions,” she says.

As far as the Spanish Zaragoza installation is concerned, General Motors is working in collaboration with the Government of Aragon, Clairvoyant Energy and Veolia Environmental to expand their consumption of renewable energy. The thin film flexible solar laminates required for the installation will be UNI-SOLAR(R: 70.08, +2.97, +4.42%), manufactured by United Solar Ovonic. The installation will be created, owned and operated by Veolia Environment and Clairvoyant Energy, who will lease the rooftop area from General Motors. Not only will the Zaragoza rooftop solar power installation cut costs for General Motors, it will also ease the power burden on the local power grid.

David Hardee, the CEO of Clairvoyant Energy is pleased with the project and its implications. “Clairvoyant Energy is delighted to be working with GM as we share their vision of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Our company goal is to create a variety of solar electricity solutions as compared to fossil fuel electricity processes by 2014 and the way to get there is through lower costs and higher efficiency.”

Global industry leader in a world leader in environmental services, Veolia Environment will be involved in the engineering, construction, approval and system operations maintenance of the installation.

General Motors is certainly thinking green. The company is also one of the major consumers of landfill gas in America. This gas, which is produced as waste decomposes, is used by GM at their assembly plants in Fort Wayne, Shreveport and Orion and three other facilities, saving a quantity of energy equal to the annual energy needed to heat 25,000 households. GM gets an annual saving of over $5 million with their landfill gas set up.

General Motors with an NYSE standing of 10.78, +0.54, +5.27% has been a world leader in auto sales for nearly 80 years. The company was started in 1908 and now has a 266,000 strong team. Last year, GM sold almost 9.37 million Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling cars. OnStar, GM’s subsidiary, are experts in vehicle safety, security and information services.

The Opel Corsa, Opel Meriva and the Opel Combo are manufactured for European consumers at the Zaragoza plant.

Imagine a time when electricity could cost you almost nothing and there would be an endless supply of it, so much so that you might even have a surplus of it.

Imagine a time when nearly every household, apartment complex, town home and condo would be covered with photovoltaic cells.

Well actually you don’t have to imagine too far in the future for all of this. There has been a phenomenal growth in interest and investment of solar energy. The solar industry has gotten a new lease of life with the resurgence and newfound enthusiasm in solar energy from projects like San Francisco’s huge new grant program to a new 280 MW plant in Arizona’s desert. Joining the bandwagon is one of the most successful manufacturers of consumer microprocessors, Intel.

To get solar power going in a big way, Intel is establishing a solar startup unit in order to gather investments required for it to become one of the forerunners in this field. The new company is named SpectraWatt Inc. Intel Capital.

Intel’s global investment organization has started off by an initial investment of $50 million. Joining Intel is a powerful coalition of power corporations and interests, including Cogentrix Energy, Solon AG, LLC (a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs) and PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund (”CETF”).

Photovoltaic cells are the “circuit” part of solar panels, which convert sunlight to energy, via the photoelectric effect. The primary business of the company would be the manufacture of photovoltaic solar cells. This is expected to spin off by the end of Q2 2008, by which time the business side of the transaction is expected to be wrapped up. The company aims at mass-producing the cells to be sold to panel makers.

Since the making of photovoltaic is similar, on a most basic manufacturing level, to making computer chips, the formation of this company is a logical move for Intel. The primary focus of the company would be to bring down the cost of the cells by improving on the manufacture process. The company would also strive to advance solar technologies, to improve efficiencies, and to improve the value of the cells sold. A new manufacturing and technology center in Oregon, is where all this would take place. The company has ideas to commence construction by the end of Q2 2008 and it is scheduled to be complete and start shipping units by the middle of 2009.

The president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president Arvind Sodhani, is of the opinion that this new solar company is a fine example of Intel’s leading influence. “SpectraWatt is a great example of technology resulting from entrepreneurial efforts inside Intel. This is an important investment for Intel Capital in the growing cleantech sector and we look forward to working with the company to support its expansion,” Sodhani stated.

There is a tremendous growth potential for the company. Photon Consulting, which tracks the market estimated than in 2007 the market for solar products amounted to $30 billion, up a whopping 50 percent from 2006. This is quite amazing considering the fact that solar power costs twice the price of traditional fossil fuel power, with capital expenses factored in. All these expenses are expected to drop tremendously within a couple of years, bringing with it a yearly growth of 30-40 percent.

This new venture of Intel is just another step in the company’s campaign to be “green” and promote environmental responsibility. Intel leads the Environmental Protection Agency‘s Green Power list as the largest purchaser of green energy credits
Andrew B. Wilson, SpectraWatt Chief executive officer and former general manager in the Intel New Business Initiatives group praised Intel‘s work, saying, “The formation of SpectraWatt is an important step forward in the renewable energy market. We are pleased to work with these companies in the goal of moving toward long-term national energy independence.”

Think back in time before automobiles came into the picture, one notable fact that you would observe would be the total lack of pollution, noise pollution, unhealthy emissions from the cars and no gasoline. It’s not that people didn’t travel, they did – but what they used was horsepower.

Now let’s think into the future, some basic similarities again, automobiles are in the picture but without the pollution, noise pollution etc. And again no gasoline! You would wonder how that is possible: Cars but no Gasoline? What would they run on? Well how about sunlight!

Solar power is something that is going to come up in a big way. There are many research projects about harnessing the sun’s energy and utilizing it for the betterment of mankind. So there might just be a future where transportation would not require any gasoline, it would be low cost and environmental friendly.

Work is already in progress to make this dream a reality. A team of fourth-year engineering students along with their professor, in Beruit, has been successful in building the first solar-powered vehicle in the Arab region. The American University of Beirut issued a statement in this regard. The vehicle has been aptly named Apollo’s Chariot. Apollo being the Greek God of the Sun as mentioned in mythology. This solar-powered vehicle is made entirely of steel and fiberglass and measures five-and-a-half meters in length and two meters in width. It’s a single seater and weighs about 700 kilograms, almost half the weight of an average sedan.

The Team of Elie Maalouf, Amin Kanafani, Ahamed Hammoud and Rawad al-Jurdi under the guidance of Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Daniel Asmar worked unceasingly for nine months to give shape to the “Chariot”.

This futuristic-looking vehicle with an aerodynamic design smoothly glides over the road with a total lack of noise and pollution. Eli Maalouf demonstrated the workings of the “Chariot” on Campus and impressed everyone with its effortless maneuvering. “Apollo’s Chariot “during the demo, moved forward, backward, along a curb and then up a small hill without any hitch.

Professor Daniel Amin in praise of this creation said that, “It looks like a rocket but moves like a swan,” “We actually built a car that runs on a new kind of energy. It’s almost like magic!”

Ellie said that the longest trip that he has ever made with the Chariot till now was, 50 meters and that he hopes that ” in the near future, I will be able to drive an improved version of this car, everyday ““ to university, to work, to go out with my friends.”

Professor Asmar purports that these solar-powered vehicles are important for research purposes for the time being and are yet still years from becoming available commercially. It would cost around a million dollars at present to build one that could be safely driven on streets.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Asmar. “This is a dream come true for me that would not have been “possible without our sponsors.”

To build Apollo’s Chariot a sum of $ 25,000, was raised through several local and foreign sponsors like Power Tech, a Lebanese co., Voluntariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo (VIS), A volunteer Italian association for development, Italian Cooperation, Byblos Bank, Bank of Beirut and Arab Countries (BAAC), Bridgestone tires and the AUB Department of Mechanical Engineering to name a few.

The car converts solar energy into 1000 watts of power with the help of 36 small and 8 large photovoltaic cells. The car includes components like cells and batteries, for capturing and storing solar energy, and a DC (direct current) motor for converting energy from the batteries into a uniform source of energy. A maximum power point tracker device is also used to maximize the amount of power delivered from the cells.

A 3,000- kilometer race by solar electric cars is held in Australia with the purpose of promoting research on solar energy. It is known as The World Solar Challenge and was launched in 1987. The next race is to be held in 2009. The team aims to keep on improving Apollo’s Chariot so that they are able to represent Lebanon and AUB at the Next World Solar Challenge

I am glad to see that large businesses are beginning to see the benefits of using solar energy by installing solar panels to save energy. DHL’s fright hub at Halle Airport is one of the first self sufficient around in a bid to combat global warming. DHL have installed solar cells and 1,000 square meters of solar powered panels on the workshop roof to generate electricity. These solar panels produce upward of 100k kilowatt hours of electric a year.

This is part of DHL’s bid to go green and cut emissions by up to 90% by 2020. As well as having all those solar panels saving money on electric and saving the environment they have a system that collects the rain water from the roof. This is then collected and used all year round to clean aircrafts.

This goes to show you that there are also financial benefits to be made in going green. In the long term buying solar panels can save you money and you are doing your bit for the environment.

Imagine how great it would be if we could do away with all those tiresome chargers, wires and plug points; if all it took was a little solar energy to power your iPhone or iPod! You could just take your iPhone along with you on your morning jog, or keep it near the window while you watch some television or even better take it to the beach and let your iPhone or iPod charge while you get a great tan.

According to MacRumors.com one of the Apple rumor sites, Apple is contemplating using solar energy to power handheld gadgets and portable computers and has recently become interested in using solar power for its mobile devices such as the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

Reportedly Apple has already gone ahead and filed a patent that reveals how the company plans to use solar power cells in its mobile devices, particularly the MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook computers, as well as the iPhone iPod lines.

The patent talks about a new technique in which small solar panels are to be placed behind the LCD screen of the portable device in question. This would place the panels in the most convenient location to absorb the suns energy and light that come through.

The technique is particularly advantageous because it does not require that Apple redesign its mobile devices such as iPhones, iPods, and laptops to configure them for solar power.
There are a few glitches such as durability and the space required to fit the new technology that Apple would need to solve before it tries to launch any such devices.

MacRumors.com had this to say about the obstacles ahead of this project: “The major issues described are the limited area available to solar panels, durability, and the \”˜wasting\”˜ of space on a portable device. It is due to these problems that solar power has not found its way into mobile devices, not just from Apple, but from all manufacturers,”

However, Apple is not the trail blazer where this concept is concerned as Motorola also came up with a similar idea earlier in a 2001 patent.

Whether apple will take this idea all the way into production or whether the idea will get shelved is something only time will tell. But it will certainly be convenient to have solar powered iPods that can just charge themselves in a little sunshine.

If you think that solar shingles on a roof is a good idea ““ imagine what would happen if someone put giant solar panels on a massive satellite and sent it into space! The amount of energy harnessed would be enormous and would cut back on the usage of fossil fuels such as coal and petrole

The concept is to put immense solar power gathering satellites in geo-synchronous orbit around a region about 22,000 miles in the sky in order to harvest solar energy and then beam it down to large ground based receivers on the earth.

America is very interested in such an idea and the 2007 report released by the Pentagon”˜s National Security Space Office, encourages the U.S. government to work on the development of space power systems for the country. According to the report, “”¦a single kilometer-wide band of geosynchronous Earth orbit experiences enough solar flux in one year to nearly equal the amount of energy contained within all known recoverable conventional oil reserves on Earth today. Charles Miller, one of the directors of the Space Frontier Foundation, had this to say: “The conditions are ripe for something to happen on space solar power”¦the environment is perfect for a new start.

Russia, China, the European Union and India, according to the Pentagon report, are also excited about this concept. Japan, which has already invested several millions into space power studies, intends to test a small scale version of this satellite in the near future. Mehta, the Director of India operations for Space Island Group, which is a California-based company that works to develop solar satellites, believes that this is the solution to India”˜s growing power needs. However, there are several obstacles to this concept, not the leeasts of which being the cost of what it will take to creat such a satellite. Jeff Keuter, President of the George C. Marshall Institute, a Washington-based research organization, belives that “”¦it will take a great deal of effort, a great deal of thought and unfortunately a great deal of money. But it is certainly possible.

These future plans for solar power may seem ambitious and innovative, but are sure to prove beneficial in the long run, if carried out. All the campaigning about solar energy and energy conservation has finally paid off and a large scale interest in solar energy has finally made it into the big leagues. Perhaps in a few decades we will see these satellites take their place in orbit!