Green Career Trends: Solar Thermal Power Plants Approved, Regenerative Energy Being Stored at Subway Station, IBM Developing Water Quality Solutions

The Abengoa Mojave solar thermal project has been approved and can now move ahead to start construction of the plant that will produce 250 megawatts of power.  It will be located on 1,700 acres of private land in San Bernadino County, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles.  Also approved was the Beacon Solar Energy Project, a 250 megawatt solar thermal plant located on the western edge of the Mojave Desert.

The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority has awarded Viridity Energy a partial payment of $900,000 to build a system that will capture the energy from subway cars as they brake to enter a Philadelphia station.  The regenerative braking energy collected from the cars will be stored in a large capacity battery at the station.  The stored energy can be used to power trains as they leave the station and also sold back to the grid, thereby lowering the costs of operation.  

Using their World Community Grid (a volunteer network of 600,000 PC computers), IBM is developing techniques to improve water quality and water safety. Some of the initiatives include, simulating how human behaviors affect watershed areas like Chesapeake Bay, improvements to water filtering and cures for water borne illnesses.  Here is a five minute video with more information about what IBM is doing. 

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The Department of Energy has announced its "Sun Shot" plan of initiatives to reduce the price of solar power by 75%. The goal is make solar energy cost competitive with fossil fuel produced energy without the use of subsides. The time frame set for this goal is by the end of the decade.