Ausra ready to take solar thermal power to next level

It's not all photovoltaics

Today Ausra opened ground on a solar thermal demonstration project in Bakersfield, CA that will be replicated for a much larger project in San Luis Obispo, CA in 2010.

Using mirrors to concentrate solar energy to heat water into steam that drives turbines, Ausra believes its San Luis Obispo project will generate 177 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power 120,000 homes. More from MSNBC.

Yesterday, I caught the CEO of Ausra on CNBC claiming that today, solar technology - both thermal and photovoltaic - was ready today to replace up to 30 percent of today's electricity demand.