Another Solar power plant switches from thermal to PV ..

[T. Keating]

"Solar power plant switches to PV from thermal"
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20094105-54/solar-power-plant-switches-to-pv-from-thermal/

A few excerpts..

"Developers of the giant Blythe Solar Power Project in California have
switched from solar thermal technology to photovoltaic solar panels,"

"Solar Millennium today said that the first 500-megawatt phase of the
Blythe plant will use photovoltaic (PV) panels because the economics
work better. "

"The moves underscore how falling costs have improved the
competitiveness of PV for large-scale projects. Solar PV prices have
fallen by more than 50 percent over the last two years"

"A few other large solar thermal projects in the pipeline will also
likely go with PV technology, Prior said. "This is the first
(technology change) where they explicitly said that that economics
drove the decision," he said. The other proposed solar thermal
projects switched to PV for different reasons. For example, one had
planned to use a relatively new solar thermal technology which
commercial banks were unwilling to provide loans to. "