“Nevada is poised to be a leader in the clean energy revolution,” Reid said.  “This facility will help position our state as the premiere place to invest in these new technologies.  As the factory expands operations and we continue to invest in clean energy, we’ll create thousands of good-paying jobs and keep our outdoors pristine for future generations.”

“This is a crossover point for this industry,” Fishman said.  “Ausra’s factory is accelerating Nevada’s and America’s solar future by tripling worldwide manufacturing capacity, relieving the supply constraint that’s slowed the industry, and continuing to drive down costs.  By a 94 percent majority, the American public wants solar power development to help address rising prices for traditional energy sources.  We’re ready to respond now with a clean, reliable and cost-competitive energy choice that will be an economic development machine for the country.  Here in Southern Nevada alone, developers are planning over $50 billion of future solar power plants.”

Ausra’s Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFJ) solar technology utilizes the heat from the sun’s rays to create steam.  Solar collectors boil water at high temperature to power steam turbine generators, in much the same way as traditional fossil-fuel power plants, but without use of fuels or release of emissions.