
Long Beach is home to one of the largest solar power conventions in
the world. The Solar Power International convention gathers over 600
commercial and residential solar businesses together under one roof,
which is covered in solar panels, for three days. Over 25,000 individuals
come to the convention every year, and the number is increasing as the
popularity and efficiency of solar power goes up, and the price goes
down.
Residents of Long Beach have been encouraging the use of solar power
for years, and this community boasts one of the highest percentages
of functioning residential solar kits. They produce roughly 500kW of
power, enough to power roughly 250 homes and it reduces greenhouse emissions
by an estimated 12 million tons over 20 years.
The Long Beach area is also a great candidate for other types of solar
power beside photovoltaic arrays. The weather is sunny and warm, so
the suns energy can also be converted to heat very effectively and used
to create steam that drive turbines to generate electricity. Regular
power plants can be retrofitted to perform this operation. Coal and
nuclear power plants likewise use heat to generate steam to drive their
turbines.