Green Wombat (via Ecogeek) is currently featuring a fascinating article on the potential for solar power. In short, it points out how solar power has got a reputation for being one of many pieces in the renewable energy jigsaw puzzle. Then adds: on the other hand, 8,500 square miles of panels could power the entire U.S.

That's a lot. And yes, solar panels are expensive. However, the setup here doesn't use silicon panels, but rather mirrors--arranged in a Fresnsel configuration (the same used in lighthouses, for maximum amplification) that are used to heat tubes of liquid. So, after a few hundred years, we're back to steam power...

8,500 square miles is about the size of New Jersey--which puts, in rather real terms, how much energy Americans use. (But we've got lots of desert out west, don't we...?)

This kind of power production would come at a greater cost than just building a soberingly huge solar power plant; our AC power grid would have to be changed to High Voltage DC to minimize energy loss. (Looks like Edison got the last laugh, in the end...)