http://clipmarks.com/clipper/Naomi-K/date/2008/4/21/http://rss.clipmarks.com/clipper/Naomi-K/date/2008/4/21/15Clip, tag and save information that's important to you. Bookmarks save entire pages...Clipmarks save the specific content that matters to you!en-ushttp://clipmarks.com/clipmark/9051F683-E217-4F99-B991-BE9B84669998/<b>clipped by:</b> <a href="http://clipmarks.com/clipper/Naomi-K/">Naomi-K</a><br><b>clipper's remarks:</b> By removing the major obstacle to solar energy - high start-up costs - solar has grown tremendously in Spain. <br/><br/>Phasing out this tariff gradually over time is also wise. This decreases dependence on these tariffs - which could destabilise the solar energy market <br><div border="2" style="margin-top: 10px; border:#000000 1px solid;" width="90%"><div style="background-color:"><div align="center" width="100%" style="padding:4px;margin-bottom:4px;background-color:#666666;overflow:hidden;"><span style="color:#FFFFFF;font-weight:bold;">Clip Source: <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/viewpoints/articles/0420vip-solaroverview0420.html" title="http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/viewpoints/articles/0420vip-solaroverview0420.html">www.azcentral.com</a></span></div><div style="padding: 10px;"><div style="text-align:left;"><DIV> But the scene is even more unworldly: 624 giant mirrors surround the tower, focusing the sun's radiation at the very top. </DIV></div></div><hr size="2" color="#666666" /><div style="padding: 10px;"><div style="text-align:left;"><DIV> The heat there reaches almost 500 degrees, making steam to run an electric turbine. The 11-megawatt system can produce enough power for 6,000 homes. </DIV></div></div><hr size="2" color="#666666" /><div style="padding: 10px;"><div style="text-align:left;"><DIV> The tower, which just completed its first year of regular operation, is part of a major solar-electric complex that Abengoa is building near Seville. </DIV></div></div><hr size="2" color="#666666" /><div style="padding: 10px;"><div style="text-align:left;"><DIV> One reason for the big push into solar, Fernandez says, is long-term self-interest: "Spain has no natural energy sources." </DIV></div></div><hr size="2" color="#666666" /><div style="padding: 10px;"><div style="text-align:left;"><DIV> But the real story here isn't the staggering technology.</DIV></div></div><hr size="2" color="#666666" /><div style="padding: 10px;"><div style="text-align:left;"><DIV> It's the financial tool that made it possible - and one that we could adopt here. </DIV></div></div><hr size="2" color="#666666" /><div style="padding: 10px;"><div style="text-align:left;"><DIV> Spain has a "feed-in tariff ": Utilities must buy a certain amount of electricity at a guaranteed price from companies that produce electricity from solar and other renewable sources. </DIV></div></div><hr size="2" color="#666666" /><div style="padding: 10px;"><div style="text-align:left;"><DIV> The price is designed to cover the extra expense of renewables. But it declines over time, so the crutch is only temporary. </DIV></div></div></div></div><br><div style="margin-bottom: 40px;"></div>http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/viewpoints/articles/0420vip-solaroverview0420.htmlTue, 22 Apr 2008 00:45:16 GMThttp://clipmarks.com/clipmark/50110A3B-982D-464A-BB7C-3B8B3B84285B/<b>clipped by:</b> <a href="http://clipmarks.com/clipper/Naomi-K/">Naomi-K</a><br><b>clipper's remarks:</b> This shows how green markets can develop in a wholistic way - good both for the environment and for society and people <br><div border="2" style="margin-top: 10px; border:#000000 1px solid;" width="90%"><div style="background-color:"><div align="center" width="100%" style="padding:4px;margin-bottom:4px;background-color:#666666;overflow:hidden;"><span style="color:#FFFFFF;font-weight:bold;">Clip Source: <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8989687?nclick_check=1" title="http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8989687?nclick_check=1">www.mercurynews.com</a></span></div><div style="padding: 10px;"><div style="text-align:left;"><P>The job, Perez said, "makes me feel like I'm part of something and I'm improving myself every day." Perez could be the poster child of a movement started in the East Bay and then advocated in presidential campaign speeches and tucked into federal energy legislation: Train at-risk youths and people stuck in low-end jobs or joblessness to work in the millions of manual labor "green economy" jobs that are emerging as this country tries to reduce global warming.</P></div></div><hr size="2" color="#666666" /><div style="padding: 10px;"><div style="text-align:left;"><P>"We call it green pathways out of poverty — connect the people who most need the work with the work that most needs to be done," said Van Jones, the Oakland social justice worker who started the Oakland Green Jobs Corps as well as the national Green for All campaign gaining cross-country attention.</P></div></div><hr size="2" color="#666666" /><div style="padding: 10px;"><div style="text-align:left;"><P>The aim is to offer these training programs in the inner city and in forgotten rural and once-industrial towns where idleness and crime have replaced factory work.</P></div></div></div></div><br><div style="margin-bottom: 40px;"></div>http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8989687?nclick_check=1Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:39:35 GMT