Why Solar Works | Renewable Energy Podcast

Nevada, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] Whether they like it or not, utilities are starting to deploy more solar. Utility support of solar PV and CSP has been one of the most important developments for the industry. In many cases, utilities are supporting solar because the law requires them to. However, a growing group of power providers are openly embracing solar technologies as an important – and reliable – part of their energy mix.

In this podcast, we'll look at the market drivers turning solar from a niche technology with limited applications into a commodity with unlimited technological potential for utilities, businesses and individual consumers.

We'll visit the 10-MW El Dorado thin-film solar PV plant – the largest in North America. Michael Gallagher, Sempra Generation's vice president of assets will show us around the power plant and tell us why the company decided to invest in solar. This is just the beginning: Sempra and First Solar plan to expand the project by 48 MW in 2010.

Then, we'll feature a panel discussion from the Net Impact Conference at Cornell University called “Making Solar Work.” Tim Derrick of Axio Power, Bill Jordan of Jordan Energy and Food Enterprises, Robb Jetty of Recurrent Energy and Robert Petrina of Yingli Solar discuss the many technological and financial factors moving the solar market forward.

Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.