ENERGY FLASHES

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THE NEXT "WORLD'S LARGEST" SOLAR ELECTRIC GENERATING FACILITY is under construction in the Mojave Desert, virtually right next door to "Solar One", the 10-megawatt plant that currently holds that title (and the subject of an entry in MOTHER NO. 76's Energy Flashes). When it's completed, the new giant will use 1.2 million square feet of parabolic trough collectors to heat fluid to 500°F. The hot liquid will, in turn, power turbines to produce a full 15 megawatts for Southern California Edison. Meanwhile, we've heard that SCE is seeking proposals from private industry to build yet another plant — to be called "Solar 100" — that would turn out an impressive 100 megawatts!

WISCONSIN POWER AND LIGHT HAS PAID $2.5 MILLION FOR A MAJORITY INTEREST IN WINDWORKS . . . the pioneering windplant and inverter manufacturer that was founded by Hans Meyer (with the sponsorship and encouragement of R. Buckminster Fuller) way back in 1970. A strange partnership? Perhaps . . . but Windworks products can now be marketed more extensively, and we're also heartened by this statement from the head of WP & L's Strategic Planning department: "We're very excited about this, not only because Windworks has a good earnings potential but because, ultimately, we see society as moving toward renewable, sustainable sources of energy."

A LANDMARK JUDICIAL DECISION REGARDING "SUN RIGHTS" has been handed down by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which recently recognized the right of a solar-home owner to seek relief from the obstruction of sunlight by a building newly erected on a neighbor's lot. The court said that in earlier years "sunlight was valued only for aesthetic enjoyment or as illumination. Since artificial light could be used . . . loss of sunlight was at most a personal annoyance." But these days, states the ruling, "Access to sunlight as an energy source is of significance to both the landowner who invests in solar collectors and to a society which has an interest in developing alternative sources of energy." The judgment has no direct effect on other states' laws, but is likely at least to influence decisions in similar cases.

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