Reporting from: The Great Valley Center Conference on Solar Energy I've been a renewable energy nut for years, ever since I had to become a sort of armchair expert on the topic for a high school debate class. Coming to Fresno has stoked my interest in the subject of solar power. I mean, here we've got this city with sunlight up the wazoo, out-of-control air pollution, a hurting economy that could really use a whole new industry to attract high-tech jobs and highly-skilled professionals, and a couple of big solar success stories, in the middle of a state with giant energy problems and an equally giant hankering for renewable energy.

Is solar power everything it's cracked up to be? If so, why isn't everything in Fresno hooked up to a solar cell? Are there people here looking into bringing this industry to this region in a big way?

So here I am, at the Great Valley Center conference on solar energy to answer these questions. The conference organizers say the San Joaquin Valley can become a national leader in the industry (so, by extension, an international leader). True?

Well, I know I'm not going to find out here, in the belly of the solar beast, in a room filled with the True Believers of the Church of Solar Energy. But I figure it's as good a place as any to start. And I'll be blogging my findings here at the Beehive. So if you're interested in seeing the [possible] birth of a global industry right here in Fresno, stay tuned.

Update: View presentations from the conference