190,000

Number of mirrors that FPL Group is erecting at its Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center power plant (shown) in Indiantown, Florida, according to "FPL Experiments With Solar Thermal at Gas-Fired Power Plant" in The New York Times. FPL Group is the parent company of Florida Power & Light Company and NextEra Energy Resources.

When it opens later this year, the 75-megawatt Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center will be the second largest solar-thermal power plant in the country, providing enough electricity for 11,000 homes, according to FPL Group.

While not in widespread use, solar-thermal power plants are nothing new. But according to the Times, what distinguishes this facility is that "the solar array is being grafted onto the back of the nation's largest fossil-fuel power plant, fired by natural gas. It is an experiment in whether conventional power generation can be married with renewable power in a way that lowers costs and spares the environment."\

Last fall, President Barack Obama promoted a national smart grid at the opening of FPL Group's s DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center.

—Steven H. Saltzman

Essential information: If you're interested in using solar power at your home, read our October 2009 report on solar water heaters. Stay on top of the latest news related to renewable and alternative energy and check out a webcam of the Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center power plant under construction.