What are the Solutions?: Entrepreneurship

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Entrepreneurship



"Innovative bottom up methods will solve problems that now seem intractable- from energy to poverty to disease. Science and technology, powered by the fuel of entrepreneurial energy, are the largest multipliers of resources we have to solve our many social problems."

-Michael Gerber-

         Entrepreneurship occurs when an individual, group of people, or a company decide to take an idea and make a business based on that idea. Environmental problems are being taken on by many entrepreneurs today. This is one example of a company using a new technology to produce clean electricity.



         In late July of 2007, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company made plans to buy 550 megawatts of solar power from an Israeli company, Solel Solar Systems, and Israeli Company. This company thinks that the time is right for this technology to become successful and is staking their company’s assets on that.   Mirrors shaped like troughs will cover 9 square miles in the Mojave Desert, an area in Southern California, USA. So how will it work? The mirrors will focus the rays of sun onto small pipes filled with liquid. Once the liquid in the pipes reaches about 750 degrees Fahrenheit (398 degrees Celsius), it will turn into steam and drive a turbine which then makes electricity. Tiny motors will rotate the mirrors so they are always lined up correctly with the sun.



         These solar troughs will be able to provide electricity for hundreds of thousands of people. What will the price of this energy be? The Pacific Gas and Electric Company has not yet specified what they will be paying for the electricity, but they expect that it will be about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is approximately the same as other Americans are paying for electricity. Once this solar plant is completed within the next few years it will be the largest of its kind. It will be essentially pollution free and will do no harm to the environment. It is a great example of how forward thinking people who are willing to take a risk can contribute to a better environment.

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Sources:

Barringer, Felicity, and Matthew L. Wald. "California Utility Agrees to Buy Power Generated by Solar Array ." The New York Times. 7/25/07 Accessed 16 February 2008. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/business/25solar.html>.

Davidson, Paul. "Pacific Gas & Electric to buy solar power from desert." USA Today. Accessed 16 February 2008 <http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2007-07-25-solar-project_N.htm>.

Photograph:

Desert View. “Nevada Solar One”. Flickr.com. Accessed 17 February 2008. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/desertvu/1177852420/>
Photograph used under the Creative Commons license. <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en>