There is a lot of hype these days about solar power. Along with that hype goes government/public funding. Unfortunately, it seems that when people - even those in government - think of solar power, they only think of the black shiny photovoltaic panels (or PV in industry jargon) that adorn highway emergency call boxes and old school calculators. But solar power is more than that.
Take the company Ausra (www.ausra.com). They design and build solar thermal system using 'compact linear fresnel' technology. Basically, sunlight is concentrated by a series of mirrors onto a closed circuit of tubes containing a liquid (usually water). The liquid is converted to steam and expanded through a steam turbine to generate electricity.
Ausra's approach to converting sunlight to electricity may not be as glamorous or sexy as the PV. But at least for the near future, it has much better power generating potential and can be more cost effective. My point is, let's prioritize government funding to commercialize the best and most cost effective technology, not just the sexiest.
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