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San Francisco Approves Large Solar Energy Project

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors approves construction of one of the largest urban solar photovoltaic arrays in the country. The solar energy installation will have a 5 megawatt capacity when completed in early 2010. It will consist of nearly 25,000 solar panels covering an area the size of nearly twelve football fields and becoming California’s largest photovoltaic system and the nation’s largest municipal solar project. This project will more than triple the municipal solar generation in San Francisco and reduce carbon emissions by over 100,000 metric tons, furthering the City’s leadership in clean energy implementation.

San Diego to Launch Algae Biofuels Research Center

The San Diego region, home to several world class research universities and institutes as well more than 500 biotechnology companies, is on its way to becoming a major center for renewable energy development, especially in the area of biofuels. Biofuel’s are a natural extension that compliments San Diego’s already vibrant life science cluster. This regional potential was given a boost with the establishment of the new the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, or “SD-CAB.” The primary goal of the center will be to create a national facility capable of developing and implementing innovative research solutions for the commercialization of fuel production from algae.