Solar Power Rises, Adding To Economy And Job Market

<!–
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
–>

Solar power companies will build two photovoltaic
power plants in California that together will generate more than 12 times as much electricity as today’s
largest solar plant installation.

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. This is roughly the size of a large coal-burning power plant or a small
nuclear plant, according to the New
York Times.

The generated power will be sold by
two companies to Pacific Gas & Electric, which is under a California mandate to
get 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010.

"These market-leading projects we have in California are something
that can be extrapolated around the world," said Jennifer Zerwer, a
spokeswoman for Pacific Gas & Electric. "It’s a milestone."

Many groups tout the jobs that the clean technology industry
would bring to the nation. The Center for
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies released a report entitled
"Harvesting California’s Renewable Energy Resources: A Green Jobs Business
Plan".

The non-profit surveys major studies and concludes that if
California gets a third of its power from renewable sources by 2020, as pending
legislation requires, as much as $60 billion would be pumped into the state
economy. Manufacturing employment could increase by 200,000 jobs.