Solar thermal energy the key to solar power?

Solar roof panels are an excellent technology. When the cost of pollution is factored into the expense of solar technology, it's clear that solar technology is for real and worth the costs. Unfortunately, especially in America, upfront costs are all that matters, and on the face of it standard electricity or even wind power and bio-mass appear much cheaper.

Solar thermal energy could help change those up front costs; however. Rather than just collecting solar power via solar panels, solar thermal energy uses the sun to create steam that powers turbines.

Fred Mayes, an alternative energy expert at the U.S. Energy Information Administration, said that solar thermal is pricey compared with wind energy and fuel from biomass. But it does have advantages, he said. Power from the desert sun is more reliable than wind power during the day -- the time of peak prices. And unlike biomass fuels, it emits no greenhouse gases. (MSNBC)

In the long run, the benefits of clean energy simply cannot be over-stated and those benefits justify the investment in solar energy.