COMMENTARY: Israel New Leader in Solar Energy
By Craig Hammond
Israel is recognized the world over as the leader in medical, paramedical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, bio-engineering, and information technology. But now it is emerging as a leader in energy.
Arnold Goldman (pictured), founder of BrightSource Energy, is converting sun light into energy - and doing it in a way that can compete commercially in the energy market. Twenty years ago Goldman, who holds engineering degrees from UCLA and USC, had installed solar powered energy stations in the southern California desert.
Today, Goldman is experimenting with solar energy in the Negev, a desert that covers about half of the nation of Israel. It's there that Goldman builds solar-thermal fields that uses heat to make steam which in turn drives electricity-producing turbines.
Goldman believes we can make a partial shift from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources in about ten years. That is, if there's a a major shift in will.
Goldman, in a recent interview with the Jerusalem Post, stated that US deserts have enough space to provide more than two-thirds of the country's electrical needs.
Keep an eye on Goldman. He's an exceptional innovator. And, once again, Israel is taking the lead in a technology, of which the impact cannot be measured.
Let's just hope and pray that the enemies of civilization don't wipe out this special and most innovative place on earth.
Craig Hammond is a former mayor of Blue field, WV and host of Radioactive on WHIS (1440 AM) and WTZE (1470 AM) in Bluefield, West Virginia and Tazewell, Virginia.