Australia is leading the way with a very promising solar powerplant. EnviroMission's website (http://www.enviromission.com.au/index1.htm) explains the technology, and includes a video clip (http://www.enviromission.com.au/Beyond%202000.wmv) from the TV series beyond 2000, that provides a tour of a working prototype in Spain. This concept is working out better than developers expected, because they have found it works day and night, rain or shine, due to the thermal mass that keeps it humming. The thermal chimney creates greener habitat in arid environments, and has much lower maintenance than a wind turbine. This is could turn out less expensive to implement, and in more varied locations than any other generating source thus far, especially in comparison to those increasingly seem to require making war in the Mideast. So of course, this development is met with a yawn by the Powers That Be in the USA. But not in Australia. This could get interesting.

More on this subject from Earthbeat (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/stories/s381152.htm),Gluckman.com (http://www.gluckman.com/SolarChimney.html),Schlaich Bergerman und Partner (http://www.sbp.de/en/fla/index.html),Wired News (http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,46814,00.html), 9msn (http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/bulletin/eddesk.nsf/0/A7BD712D34AE25B3CA256B12001BA833?open)

Or here: http://sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=32917
:mad:
If you note the company is just spinning its wheels construction has yet to begin.

I should have searched for a prior thread- my bad. But spinning its wheels? Investment seems fairly substantial. You can check EnviroMission's quarterly reports on the website. I wouldn't expect anyone, even a government, to start banging together a project of this scale overnight- but that doesn't mean it holds no promise. Give this fetus a little time to cook.