DOE expects to fund between approximately 20 and 22 projects, and encourages industry, universities, and National Laboratories to apply.

Gemasolar, owned by Torresol Energy, a joint venture between SENER (60%) and Masdar (40%), is located in Fuentes Andalucia, Spain.

Cost per Watt Reduced on Solar Thermal Installations.

BrightSource will develop three separate 250 megawatt (nominal) solar thermal power plants, each with its own solar field and solar power tower.

Sandia National Laboratories will begin researching how to use glitter-sized photovoltaic cells in utility-scale solar power systems, which eventually could cut the costs of solar panels in half and nearly double their efficiency.

29-30 November 2011 Amman, Jordan

10 November 2011 New York, USA

8-9 November 2011 New York, USA

30 January– 2 February 2012 Las Vegas, United States

Using solar thermal energy to power an air conditioning unit can be difficult and expensive.