So I’m in Phoenix now for the Tom Waits concert, and I figured I’d poke around the internet to see what environmentalism they’ve gotten themselves into in the state next to mine. Lo and behold, an article in azcentral.com tells us it looks like Arizona is planning on building one of the world’s largest solar energy plants, ready to open in 2011.

The plant will be strong enough to power 70,000 homes. Which seems like a whole lot. In conjunction with a slightly smaller plant announced in December, it seems like Arizona is attempting to become the solar capital of the world.  Or at least the Southwest.

And I can attest to the fact that they have some solar power to be captured here. It’s 108 degrees right now. Which is hotter than Baghdad today. That’s a true story.

The power is about 40 percent more expensive than coal, but Arizona also gets cheaper energy (9/10 the average cost) from a nuclear plant, which means the state can even out prices as to not pass on the cost to consumers. Which is pretty awesome.

takepart by visiting the Arizona Solar Center to learn more about what the state is doing about solar energy, but also about solar power in general.