Reply #3: more info....

[jpak]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/15250217.htm

PG&E vows fivefold increase in solar use
PLANTS TO BE BUILT; WILL USE SUN, STEAM TO PRODUCE ENERGY

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The deal calls for at least one 100-megawatt solar-thermal plant, which will use both the sun and steam to produce energy, to be built within four years. Several other plants will follow, said Charles Ricker, president of LUZ II's U.S. operations.

If completed, the amount of solar power produced in California would dwarf the 380 megawatts currently being produced by large-scale solar plants nationwide.

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The LUZ solar-thermal plants will use reflecting mirrors, or heliostats, that will send concentrated sunlight to a collection point that will heat water, turning it into steam. That steam will provide the energy for a turbine that will produce energy, Ricker said. He declined to provide pictures or more detail of the process, saying it was proprietary information.

The company also doesn't know exactly where the plants will be built, but Ricker said they may not be in one location.

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