Green Career Trends: First Solar to Work on Desertech Industrial Initiative, HP Reducing Paper Useage, Solar Panels Getting Cheaper, More Efficient

Tempe, AZ based First Solar has announced it has joined Desertec Industrial Initiative as an associate partner.  This Initiative would use solar and wind power produced in the desert of North Africa to supply electricity to portions of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.  The goal is to provide 15% of the coalition's power needs by 2050 at a cost of $555 billion.  First Solar has experience building solar plants in the deserts of the US and United Arab Emirates. 

If your interest is in greening the job you currently have by becoming an intrapreneur, you may want to look to high tech giant HP  for a model on how to reduce the amount of paper used in house and by your customers. (An intrapreneur is someone who sees an green project opportunity within a company and develops that project by volunteering their time. If you see an opportunity, track your results! You may be able to lobby the company to create a paid position to expand your project.)

One of the ways to get renewable solar energy more widely adopted is to make it less expensive and more efficient than current models.  Scientists at the Royal Melborne Institute of Technology have created just that.  A spin-off company, Technique Solar claims they can deliver solar power at the same price as grid-delivered fossil fuel energy.