Funny you should bring that up, my father's company rebuilt the one out near
Barstow about 10 years ago and he thought it was amazing. He was responsible
for all the steam portion of it, and other than having to live in Barstow,
he enjoyed his time AND the technology. Said it made perfect sense to put
the sun to work. I have all the official blueprints and specs on that setup
somewhere, as I inherited piles of "paper" when he passed away.
Regards,
Courtney

----- Original Message -----
From: "Geza Polony" <gezapolony@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 8:30 AM
Subject: Re: Alternative Fuels - Salt Water

> John,
>
> A viable alternative to nuclear is solar thermal, a new technology that
> works by focusing mirrors on liquid-filled tubes, which then generate
> enough
> steam to run turbines. This isn't pie-in-the-sky thinking, either--Pacific
> Gas and Electric, the major electricity supplier to the country's most
> populous state, is in contract to build a square mile plant in Southern
> California. For info, see:
>
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/05/BUBTT5KM2.DTL
>
> As with all technologies, there will be some ill effects, but compared to
> the nuclear waste issue, it seems this is pretty benign. In a few years we
> shall see.
>