There are over 182,000 solar panels at the Nevada Solar One. The solar panels heat oil in pipes up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit, then the hot oil pours into giant radiators, which extract the heat and turn water into steam. The steam then drives a turbine and dynamo, pushing as much as 64 megawatts onto the grid. That would be enough energy to power 14,000 households. The Nevada Solar One is the largest solar power plant built in the last 17 years.

Nevada Solar One can convert 21% of the suns rays into electricity. Although gas plants are more efficient, the solar power is free. Small motors move the solar panels so they will always be facing the sun. President Barack Obama promise to “harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories." Energy from the sun is virtually unlimited.

There are two main ways to capture the suns rays. The first way is to produce steam, with either parabolic troughs or with a field of flat, computer-guided mirrors that focus sunlight on a receiver on top of an enormous tower called a "power tower." The second way to capture the sun’s rays is to convert sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels made of semiconductors, for example silicon. Solar power became popular in the Carter era but then died down.

Europe is far ahead of us in renewable energy. In Germany, utility companies are required to pay for even the smallest producers of solar power of about 50 euro cents an hour. PS10 is probably the most spectacular showcase for future solar power. It is a 377-foot power tower surrounded by 624 sun-tracking mirrors that reflect light beams towards its crown. During the Great Depression the Hoover Dam was built and many other power plants were built. Maybe during this depression more solar power plants will be built or renewable resources used.