Renewable energy is generated from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat. On October 5, 2010, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) approved the construction of the first large-scale solar energy facilities in California, which will be divided into two complexes totaling 6,800 acres of public land. It is estimated that this project will last 30 years and generate almost 1,000 new jobs. The solar energy technology that will be used in California's Imperial County is called Sterling Energy Systems' SunCatcher technology. It will require 28,360 solar antennas and produce approximately 709 megawatts that will provide electricity to 212,700 to 531,750 homes. The second project is called the Chevron Lucerne Valley Solar Project and will use solar photovoltaic technology in San Bernardino County using 40,500 solar panels, producing 45 megawatts and powering 13,500 to 33,750 homes. Another project planned for San Bernardino County will use parabolic mirrors and create 250 megawatts of power. There are several solar power projects still awaiting approval from the DOI, such as a 1000 megawatt Blythe solar power project consisting of a parabolic trough facility. This is expected to be the largest solar power plant in the world. Companies working on renewable energy projects receive credits from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. (EERE Network News) More and more countries are putting turning solar energy into electricity at the top of their “policy agenda” (Solar Energy). In America, less than 1% of electricity consumption is powered by solar energy. European countries, however, are eager to use solar energy and promote it by having utility companies purchase expensive solar energy at a fixed cost. The beginning... the middle of the card... will diminish as it has slowly begun to do. There are many countries in the world that want to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air and the more countries join this, the sooner the world will start to change. There is still a long way to go before renewable energy can become the dominant energy source. Works Cited EERE Network News. Department of the Interior approves first solar energy projects on public land. 08 10 2010. 13 12 2010 .Fife, Mike. "Solar energy". Solar Power Reliability and System Balance Designs 14 10 2010.Pebbles, Victoria. “Locating Wind Farms in the Great Lakes Region: Policy Summary and Analysis.” Location of Wind Farms in the Great Lakes Region: Policy Summary and Analysis 15 10 2010."Solar Energy." Solar energy. New York: New York Times, 1 4 2010.